Engineer Vikram Rana’s body found after six-day search in Wayanad landslide

A pall of gloom descended on Sarela village in Takoli-Ghirthan gram panchayat of Fatehpur subdivision in Kangra district on Sunday after news arrived that the body of engineer Vikram Rana (58), who had been trapped and missing since a massive landslide struck a tunnel construction site in Wayanad district of Kerala on July 7, had been recovered.

The tragic discovery ended six days of anxious waiting for Rana’s family, relatives and villagers, who had been hoping for his safe rescue. Family members said they had not cooked food at home during the entire period, praying for his safe return. The entire gram panchayat has been left in shock following his untimely demise.

According to Promod Rana and Kulwant Rana, brothers of the deceased, who have been stationed at the landslide site since July 8, the body was recovered by search and rescue teams at around noon on Sunday. They said that after the completion of legal formalities and a post-mortem examination by the Wayanad authorities, the mortal remains would be dispatched by the construction company and are expected to reach his native village on Monday.

Vikram Rana was working as Project Manager with DBL Construction Company and had been deputed to the tunnel construction project in February this year. He was trapped when a massive landslide struck the construction site on July 7.

Four rescue teams, comprising personnel from the NDRF, Fire and Rescue Services, Kerala Police and volunteers from the local NGO Jeevan Rakshak, carried out an intensive search and rescue operation for six consecutive days. The teams finally recovered Rana’s body from beneath the landslide debris, where it had been hidden in a heap of pipes near the entrance gate of the construction site.