Vijayan said that of the dead, 34 bodies were identified and 18 were handed over to families. The CM also said that 16 bodies were recovered from the Chaliyar river at Pothukal village in the district. Besides that, body parts were also recovered by those carrying out search and rescue operations, he said. 

 Vijayan said that the initial landslide occurred around 2 am and the next one hit around 4.30 am, leaving hundreds trapped beneath the debris and many more being swept away. The landslides occurred when the villagers were sleeping, catching them off-guard and resulting in the high number of casualties, he said.