According to rescue personnel, they are looking for potential survivors beneath fallen roofs and the rubble of demolished homes.
Early on Tuesday morning, the area was hit by thick torrents of mud and water that uprooted trees and flattened homes.
Rescue efforts are hampered by the area’s ongoing heavy rainfall.
Since 2018, when floods claimed over 400 lives in the state, the landslides represent the deadliest natural calamity to affect the area.
The accident happened in the tea and cardamom estate-surrounded Mundakkai and Chooralmala portions of the Wayanad district.
The late Tuesday night rescue operations were restarted early on Wednesday morning.
The extent of the destruction is seen in photos taken at the scene, which show wrecked homes and uprooted trees laying on inundated roads.
In one of the houses, a local resident reported to news agency PTI that he observed victims smeared in dirt sitting on chairs and resting on beds.
Thus far, over 3,000 individuals have been saved and sent to 45 relief camps. Migrant laborers and plantation workers who resided here are among those who are still missing.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), teams from the police and fire departments, as well as the army, navy, and air force, are conducting the rescue operations.
Photographs depict rescuers removing people from beneath the boulders and bringing them outside. Rescue crews are working in certain areas to build it.
