Three migrant workers killed, five missing after landslide at Wayanad tunnel project, India

A landslide triggered -construction Anakkampoyil–Kalladi–Meppadi tunnel road project near Kalladi in Kerala’s Wayanad district at about LT on July 7, 2026, killing three migrant workers, injuring seven others and leaving five people missing, according to Kerala authorities. Rescue operations continued on July 8 despite persistent rainfall that hampered access to the site. Rescue teams divided the affected area into four operational sectors as personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, police units and sniffer dog teams searched for workers believed to be trapped beneath mud and construction debris. Heavy monsoon rainfall continued throughout the operation, slowing excavation efforts and increasing the risk of additional slope failures. The landslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge beside the tunnel’s active excavation zone when a large mound of rain-soaked excavated earth collapsed, breaching a concrete retaining wall constructed to protect the work area. CCTV footage released , carrying away a parked fuel tanker and a workers’ bus before severing the Meppadi–Chooralmala road. Kerala authorities described the incident as a man-made disaster, alleging that large quantities of excavated material had been dumped above the construction site despite repeated warnings to remove it before the peak monsoon period. State officials said the District Collector and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) had directed the contractor on June 20 to remove the accumulated spoil after identifying it as a landslide hazard. Siddique said the collapse resulted from “unscientific dumping of earth,” while the state government ordered an investigation into the incident. #WATCH | District Collector & District Magistrate of Wayanad, Meghashree DR says, "…Yesterday we were to retrieve 3 bodies and 9 people have been shifted to the hospital. All of them are doing very well. They are stable. 2-3 people are in ICU. They are being provided very good… https://t. co/CtbeNMYEIa pic. twitter. com/lWDmnHkVRo — ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2026 Dilip Buildcon Ltd., which is constructing the project for Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), rejected the allegations. The company said the project had been executed in accordance with approved engineering, environmental and safety standards and maintained that the slope failure originated above the active construction zone in a forested area during exceptionally heavy rainfall rather than within the engineered works. The workers killed in the landslide were migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Police registered an unnatural death case while authorities continued efforts to locate the five missing workers. As a precaution, nearby residents and estate workers were evacuated, with 142 people from 42 families relocated to a relief camp at Meppadi Polytechnic College because of concerns that additional slope failures could threaten nearby communities.