Wayanad landslide: Body of missing Odisha doctor recovered, search on for another

Bhubaneswar: The body of one of the two Odisha doctors, who went missing in the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad, has been found, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said here on Wednesday.

Speaking to the mediapersons here, Minister Suresh Pujari identified the two doctors as Bishnu Prasad Chinara and Swadhin Panda. "We have received information that the body of Bishnu Prasad Chinara has been located. His wife Priyadarshini Pal, who was injured in the landslide, is undergoing treatment in a hospital and is stable,” he said.

The deceased Bishnu Prasad was a resident of the Housing Board colony in the Choudwar area of Cuttack district.

Bishnu Prasad, his wife Priyadarshini, and friends Dr Swadhin Panda and Swikruti Mohapatra had reportedly gone on a trip to Kerala on July 26. They were staying at a hotel in Wayanad when the landslides struck.

The Minister stated that Swikruti Mohapatra, a resident of the OMP Chowk in the Beheramal area of Jharsuguda district, was injured in the landslide. She was stable and undergoing treatment in a hospital in Kerala, the Minister said, adding that he had spoken to her father.

The government will make arrangements to bring back the body of Bishnu Prasad Chinara after re-identification and completion of other formalities, the Minister said.

One administrative official, Dillip Kumar Routray, along with a doctor has been sent to Kerala, who will check the health condition of the injured in the hospital and also make arrangements to send back the body to Odisha, said Minister Pujara.

He hoped and prayed for the safe return of Dr Swadhin Panda, who is still missing in Wayanad. The Minister said the state government is in touch with the Kerala government over the matter.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the death of Bishnu Prasad and condoled the bereaved family members.

More than 180 persons have died in the massive landslides in Wayanad.