The IMD issued a red alert on Tuesday for Wayanad district in Kerala, as very heavy rain fell in Mananthavady and Vythiri districts during the day.
The alert was issued at 12.30 pm following the landslide at the Kalladi Tunnel Project site in Wayanad around 11 am.
A red alert has also been sounded in neighboring Kozhikode district by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while orange alerts have been issued in Malappuram, Kannur and Kasaragod districts of the state.
Read also | Landslide hits Wayanad Tunnel Project in Kerala, many feared trapped; Rescue operation on
Mananthavady district received 64 mm of rain, and Vythiri received 123 mm during the day.
A red alert means very heavy rainfall of more than 204mm in 24 hours, an orange alert means very heavy rainfall between 115mm and 204mm, and a yellow alert means very heavy rainfall between 64mm to 115mm.
While Chief Minister V D Sathisan confirmed the death of one person in the landslide, seven people were admitted to hospitals. The Prime Minister also said that seven other people were missing.
Those living in nearby areas are being evacuated.
A senior government official told reporters here that there were no workers at the site and those feared to be trapped under the mud were engineers and security personnel.
She added: “If work had been taking place there, the tragedy would have been greater.”
The landslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge in Kalladi, where work was underway on a tunnel road project linking Malappuram and Wayanad districts.
A private bus, said to have been used to transport workers, which was parked at the site, was pushed into the nearby river by the landslide and remained there half submerged as water flowed through it.
