Dozens dead, hundreds feared trapped in India landslides

Landslides in India triggered by pounding monsoon rains have killed at least 45 people with at least 250 others rescued from a landscape transformed by mud and debris, officials said Tuesday.

The southern coastal state of Kerala has been battered by torrential downpours, with blocked roads into the disaster area at Wayanad district complicating relief efforts.

District official D.R. Meghasree told reporters that 45 people were dead and another 116 were in hospital for treatment.

Kerala state health minister Veena George told the Press Trust of India news agency that "many" others had been injured and were being treated in hospital.

Images published by the National Disaster Response Force show rescue crews trudging through mud to search for survivors and carry bodies on stretchers out of the area.

Homes were caked with brown sludge as the force of the landslide's impact scattered cars, corrugated iron and other debris around the disaster site.

India's army said it had deployed more than 200 soldiers to the area to assist state security forces and fire crews in search and rescue efforts.

"Hundreds of people are suspected to have been trapped," it said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had assured the Kerala government of "all possible help" with the situation.

"My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured," he said in a post on social media platform X.

His office said families of victims would be given a compensation payment of $2,400 (200,000 rupees).

More rainfall and strong winds were forecast in Kerala on Tuesday, the state's disaster management agency said.

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