Published Jul 12, 2026 | 3:22 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 12, 2026 | 3:22 PM
The landslide occurred at the construction site of the Anakkampoyil–Kalladi–Meppadi twin-tunnel road project in Kalladi, Wayanad.
Synopsis: Search teams recovered the body of the last missing worker from the Wayanad twin-tunnel collapse site on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight. A native of Himachal Pradesh, Bikram Singh’s body was recovered from Zone 2, where iron parts were buried beneath the debris.
The death toll in the debris collapse at the construction site of the proposed Anakkampoyil–Kalladi–Meppadi Twin-Tube Tunnel Road in Kerala’s Wayanad district rose to eight after search teams recovered the body of the last missing worker, Bikram Singh Rana, on Sunday, 12 July.
A native of Himachal Pradesh, Bikram Singh’s body was recovered from Zone 2, where iron parts were buried beneath the debris.
Family members identified the body before it was shifted to Vythiri Taluk Hospital for a post-mortem examination. It will later be taken to the Kozhikode Government Medical College for embalming.
The search operation was carried out jointly by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams from Meenangadi and Kozhikode, Fire and Rescue Services, the Revenue Rapid Response Team (RRT), the police, and district administration officials.
On Thursday, rescue teams recovered the bodies of engineer Rahul Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, surveyor Azharuddin Ansari from Uttar Pradesh, and excavator operator Mohammed Imran from Bihar. On Friday, they recovered the body of surveyor Rakesh Guchait (24), a native of East Midnapore in West Bengal.
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The proposed Anakkampoyil–Kalladi–Meppadi tunnel is among Kerala’s largest road infrastructure projects. Planned as an 8.753-km unidirectional, twin-tube, four-lane tunnel beneath Vavulmala, it is intended to provide a direct road connection between Kozhikode and Wayanad while reducing dependence on the landslide-prone Thamarassery Ghat Road.
A soil piping incident caused by incessant heavy rainfall on Tuesday, 7 July, led to the disaster, killing three people and prompting a massive rescue operation.
Previously, Chief Minister VD Satheesan blamed the contractors for the accident. Agriculture Minister T Siddique, who is in charge of Wayanad district, termed it a “man-made disaster”.
In the aftermath of the collapse, the district administration opened a relief camp at Chulikka Government Lower Primary School and evacuated residents from the surrounding area.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
