Bengaluru/Wayanad: Amid the search for the missing people in the landslide-hit Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad, Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) chairman S Somanath on Saturday said only a certain depth of filtration is possible with space technology and could not be relied on for finding people buried under debris. The ISRO chief was answering a question in this regard in the outreach programme organised by ISRO, #asksomanatisro on Instagram.
“There are limitations of space-based sensors to locate objects that are buried under debris, which is currently an issue. It is not possible to detect what is deep under the ground from space. A certain depth of filtration is always possible by radar signals, but it is not possible to find underground channels or petroleum deposits and deep minerals, added Somanath.
On Saturday, army personnel took advanced radar and drones to intensify the search for the missing people on the fifth day of the tragic landslides. Nearly 1,300 personnel from various forces, including the NDRF, K-9 Dog Squad, Army, Special Operation Group, Madras Engineering Group, Police, Fire Force, Forest Department, Navy, and Coast Guard were deployed in the disaster-struck areas. Private companies specialising in the field of search and rescue and volunteers also joined the operations in which rescuers braved the rains and waterlogged terrain to look for survivors under massive boulders and huge logs that were deposited in residential areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in the landslides. As per unofficial records, a total of 357 people were killed in the natural disaster.
With around 206 people still missing, deep search radars and cadaver dogs were also deployed in a bid to locate people or their remains believed to be trapped beneath the huge debris in the landslide-ravaged villages.
The search operations were also supported by a group of ham radio enthusiasts who established a critical communication network that helped save lives and facilitated the search operations. The amateur radio system, set up by volunteer operators on the ground floor of the District Collector's office in Kalpetta, has been providing vital information to affected communities and authorities, facilitating search and relief operations.
(With PTI inputs)
