At least 41 people were killed, dozens injured and hundreds drowned or swept into a river when landslides hit hills in the southern Indian state of Kerala, media reported citing local authorities, while search and rescue operations were hampered by the collapse of a bridge. in the area.

The state government’s health minister, Vina George, said at least 70 people had died. The Indian Express newspaper reported that an equal number of residents are feared to have been swept into the Chaligyar River.

Rain was expected to continue throughout the day in the region, forecasters warned.

The Army deployed more than 200 personnel to participate in the search, rescue and relief operations, including members of the Engineer to build a temporary bridge, as an important bridge in the area was destroyed.

“Hundreds of people may have been trapped”the armed forces stressed.

India’s federal Prime Minister Narendra Modi said via X that he was “thinking” of the citizens who lost loved ones and “praying” for those who were injured.

Mr Modi also assured the state chief minister in Kerala that “all possible help” would be provided from the federal government.

The monsoon that occurs in southern Asia from June to September offers respite in the midst of summer heat, and the rains it brings are described as necessary to replenish water reserves, but they also often cause floods and landslides, with widespread damage and heavy tolls . The intensity of the phenomenon has greatly escalated in recent years, which experts attribute to the effects of climate change.

Dams, deforestation and various development projects, moreover, are also considered factors that worsen the situation and increase the toll of victims.

Severe storms hit Mumbai — formerly known as Mumbai — earlier this month, flooding parts of it, while lightning killed at least 10 people in the state of Bihar (northeast).

In Kerala, at least 25 people had lost their lives due to floods and landslides in 2021.

While in 2018, almost 500 people had lost their lives in the worst floods of the last century in this state.