Odisha doctor and wife missing in Kerala landslide, search underway

Cuttack/Wayanad: In a tragic piece of news, an Odisha based doctor and his wife have been reported to be missing, said reports on Tuesday. The doctor has been identified as Krushnaprasad Chinnara. He allegedly belonged to Cuttack and had gone to Kerala with his wife Priyadarshini on a vacation.

Later it has been reported that the wife has been found and is in a critically condition and is being treated in the surgery ward of EMS Hospital in Kerala. But, the doctor is still missing. The couple had gone to Kerala to celebrate Krushnaprasad’s birthday on July 27. However they had gone missing in the Kerala landslide. The wife was found but, search is still on for the doctor.

It is worth mentioning here that, as many as 45 people have died and hundreds are feared trapped after three landslides hit Kerala’s Wayanad district. The Prime Minister’s Office has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of those killed in the calamity. Those injured would be given Rs 50,000.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said that the Fireforce and NDRF teams are on the scene, and more NDRF teams are on the way to assist.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that all government agencies have joined the search and rescue operations in the wake of massive landslides that struck various hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district.

Among the affected areas are Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha, authorities have said. Many roads have collapsed and a bridge has been swept away and several areas have become unreachable, Health Minister Veena George told news agency ANI.