Rescuers resume search in rain-ravaged Idukki

Rescuers were today looking for possible survivors in rain-ravaged Idukki district of Kerala, where a string of landslides claimed 14 lives, even as Cochin International Airport was yet to resume operations.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is visiting Idukki to assess the magnitude of the disaster after the rains and landslips and decide on the relief package to compensate the devastation suffered by the high range district.
The government had already allotted Rs 84 crore for urgent relief works in Idukki and neighbouring districts.
Rescuers, led by a team of National Disaster Relief Force, resumed search in the worst-affected Chiyyampara, where five persons were killed in a major landslip. They are mainly looking for those who may have been trapped in vehicles buried under mounds of rubble, official sources said.

Traffic has been partly restored in the National Highway linking Idukki with rest of the state, which remained blocked till this morning by flash flood and rubble spawned by a series of landslips.
The Cochin International Airport at nearby Nedumbassery was also shut yesterday as taxi bays and parking bays continue to be water-logged.
A report from Kochi said operations at the airport would commence by 3.30 PM today.
Airport Director A K C Nair said as of now there is no waterlogging and they were confident of operating flights from this evening.