Emergency workers on Sunday (July 12, 2026) recovered the body of the lone missing person following a devastating debris slip at a tunnel construction site at Kalladi in Wayanad’s Meppadi, taking the death toll in the disaster to eight.
The deceased was identified as Bikram Singh Rana, a project manager from Himachal Pradesh.
Rana’s body was recovered on the sixth day of the search during extensive operations in Zone II. It was found in an area where iron debris had accumulated following the disaster.
Officials said that with the recovery of his body, all missing people had now been accounted for after the massive debris slip struck near the entrance to the underconstruction Wayanad twin-tunnel road project on July 7.
After his relatives identified the body, it was shifted to the Vythiri Taluk Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Following the procedure, the body will be shifted to the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital for embalming before being repatriated to his native place.
As search operations in the area concluded, Dilip Buildcon Limited, the company entrusted with the construction of the Wayanad tunnel road project, has been directed to remove the debris accumulated following the debris slip at the construction site within three days.
Speaking after a review meeting at the Wayanad Collectorate on Sunday, Agriculture Minister T. Siddique said the company had been asked to clear the soil that had collapsed onto both sides of the road as well as the excavated earth dumped near the accident site.
Meanwhile, an expert committee constituted by the Kerala government to study the causes of the debris slip will inspect the site on Monday (July 13, 2026). The panel will recommend how, when and from where the debris should be removed and suggest the safety measures to be adopted, the Minister said.
The State government will provide ₹2 lakh as financial assistance to each of those injured in the accident and still undergoing treatment, while the company will give an additional ₹2.5 lakh. The company has also been asked to provide additional assistance to the three persons undergoing treatment in the critical care unit.
Mr. Siddique said the company had been directed to provide both immediate and long-term financial assistance to the families of those killed and injured in the accident and to credit the compensation to their bank accounts within 10 days.
Published - July 12, 2026 01:55 pm IST