NEW DELHI (AP) — Rescue teams in the southern Indian state of Kerala raced to find five people still missing a day after heavy monsoon rains caused a deadly landslide, officials said.The landslide killed at least three people working near a tunnel construction site in Wayanad district, a hill region known for its lush forests and rolling green landscapes.Seven workers were also injured and are undergoing treatment in a hospital.Authorities divided the area into zones as rescue crews, including disaster response teams and sniffer dogs, searched the region for missing despite heavy rain hampering operations, Devamanohar, a local police official, told reporters.A video clip showed a huge mound of mud giving way in heavy rain, uprooting trees and sweeping away metal and fabric barricades around the tunnel construction site.Kerala’s home minister T. Siddique told reporters it was a “not a natural landslide but a man-made one caused by the unscientific dumping of earth” in comments carried by the Press Trust of India news agency, alleging construction debris was not cleared despite official warnings.
The construction company has denied responsibility, saying the landslide originated far above the work site, the news agency said.
