Wayanad: Kerala Health Minister Veena George was involved in an accident while en route to the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad and is currently being treated at the state-run Medical College in Manjeri.
Official sources reported that her car collided with a two-wheeler before stopping after hitting an electric post near Manjeri. The journalist-turned-CPI-M legislator sustained minor injuries to her hand and head and is expected to resume her journey to the landslide areas later today.
The person driving the two-wheeler involved in the accident is also receiving treatment for injuries. Meanwhile, the death toll from the massive landslides in Wayanad, which occurred on Tuesday, has risen to 153, with 98 people still missing.
Search operations for the missing continued on Wednesday. The worst-affected areas include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil, and Pothukalu. Locals who managed to escape these areas are deeply devastated, as hundreds of homes have been destroyed.
On Tuesday, Union Minister George Kurian reached Wayanad to take stock of ongoing relief operations, where he interacted with senior officials of the NDRF, CRPF and Army officials. He also visited a relief camp at Kalpetta at 11 pm.
On Tuesday morning, two massive landslides that washed away the Mundakkai and Chooramala areas of Vellarimala village took place under Meppadi Panchayat in Wayanad. The landslides destroyed several houses, uprooted trees and made water bodies swell, hampering the rescue work.