Landslides have swept through tea estates in the southern Indian state of Kerala, killing at least 93 people as hillsides collapsed after heavy rain and sent rivers of mud and water onto the homes of workers and villagers.
The hillsides gave way after midnight following torrential rainfall on Monday in the Wayanad district of Kerala, a state renowned as one of India's most popular tourist destinations.
Most of the victims were estate workers and their families who were asleep at the time in makeshift tents.
Television images showed rescue workers working amid uprooted trees and flattened tin structures as boulders lay strewn at the site with muddy water gushing through.
One man was stuck in chest-high mud for hours, television showed, struggling to free himself until rescue workers finally reached him.
At least 93 people were killed in the landslides, and 100 families were stranded afterwards, local Asianet TV reported.
In a post on social media platform X, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the disaster.
“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured,” Modi wrote.
He announced compensation of $US2388 ($A3600) to the victims’ families.
Nearly 350 families lived in the affected region, mostly tea and cardamom estates, and 250 people had been rescued so far, state officials said. Many others are missing.
The weather office said there was extremely heavy rainfall over north and central Kerala on Tuesday, with more rain predicted through the day.
It is the worst disaster there since 2018 when heavy floods killed almost 400 people.
State cabinet minister MB Rajesh told ANI news agency rescue efforts were hampered due to the collapse of a bridge.
"We fear the gravity of this tragedy is much more. Rescue operations are being carried out by various agencies on a war footing," Rajesh said.
Army engineers were roped in to help build an alternate bridge after the one that linked the affected area to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed, the Kerala chief minister's office said in a statement.
"A small team has managed to cross the bridge across the river and reach (the site) but we will need to send many more to provide help and to start rescue operations," Kerala chief secretary V Venu told reporters, adding that many people were still missing.
Rashid Padikkalparamban, a resident involved in the relief efforts, said there were at least three landslides in the area starting around midnight, which washed away the bridge connecting the Mundakkai estates to Chooralmala.
"Many people who were working in the estates and staying in makeshift tents inside are feared trapped or missing," he said.
Rescue operations were hampered as the area was not reachable by road because of the bridge collapse.
Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi said he had spoken to the state chief minister to ensure co-ordination with all agencies.
"The devastation unfolding in Wayanad is heartbreaking," he said in a message on X.
"I have urged the union government to extend all possible support."
With AP
