ody of victim of Kattipara landslide recovered

The body of a woman, who went missing after a landslide struck the hilly region of Kattipara at Thamaraserry following heavy rains, was recovered today, taking the toll there to 14.

With this, the last of the bodies has been recovered from the rubble under the landslide, official sources said.

The body of the victim, identified as Nafeesa (55), was handed over to her relatives, official sources said.

The bodies of her husband Abdur Rahiman, son Jaffer and Jaffer's son Muhammed Jasim have already been recovered.

Earlier in the day, the Kerala government had said a probe would be conducted to ascertain whether a private check dam atop a hill was the cause of the massive landslide that struck Kattipara in Kozhikode district, leading to the deaths.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the state assembly that a panel had been constituted and it would soon submit a report on whether the collapse of the check dam had caused the destruction in the region.

Incessant rains have lashed Kerala since the onset of the south west monsoon last month, leading to many deaths.

Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan had said that a total of 235 houses had been destroyed completely and 5,022 houses partially.

The total crop loss in the state was estimated at Rs 71.39 crore and value of the property, including houses destroyed, was estimated at Rs 8.48 crore," he had said.