Rescuers search for 5 missing people after a deadly landslide in India's Kerala state

Rescue operations are seen after a landslide near Meppadi tunnel project in Wayanad, in the southern state of Kerala, India, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Kerala Public Relations department via AP)

NEW DELHI — 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 agriculture minister T. Siddique, who represents the area in the state legislature, told reporters it was “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. He alleged that 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.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Last year, cloudbursts, floods and landslides caused significant loss of life and property across India.

Experts say human-caused climate change is intensifying South Asia’s monsoons, which traditionally run from June to September and again from October to December. The rains, once predictable, now arrive in erratic bursts that dump extreme amounts of water in short periods, followed by dry spells.

Meanwhile, heavy monsoon rains battered parts of western and northern India, triggering floods and landslides. Rains have also swept across New Delhi and other northern states, bringing relief from the heat but leaving several areas waterlogged.

The India Meteorological Department has warned of heavier rainfall across northern India over the next three days.

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The Associated Press