International Desk

About 108 people were killed and 128 hospitalised with injuries as a series of landslides triggered by heavy downpour flattened four villages of southern Indian state Kerala’s hilly Wayanad district, the state’s chief minister said.

The chief minister's claim raises the death toll from the 80 announed earlier by Kerala chief secretary V Venu. At the time of writing this report, rescue operations were still continuing in the landslide-hit regions.

"This is one of the worst natural calamities Kerala has ever witnessed," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement. About, 250, including the 128 hospitalised, have been rescued from mud and debris.

The Kerala government has declared state mourning on 30 and 31 July in memory of those who lost their lives in the massive landslides.

The landslides left a trail of destruction, with several houses destroyed, water bodies swollen, and trees uprooted, hampering rescue operations.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi told lawmakers at the parliament: "Our country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in recent years."

"The need of the hour is a comprehensive action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities."

The number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years, and experts say climate change is exacerbating the problem.

"The number of extremely heavy rainfall days have increased," Kartiki Negi of Indian environment think tank Climate Trends told AFP.

"The atmosphere is quite disturbed," she said. "Thus we see more and more extreme events these days."

Damming, deforestation and development projects in India have also exacerbated the human toll.

Rescue teams worked hard Tuesday in Kerala defying huge boulders and many uprooted trees blocking roads to evacuate those stranded. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the state government has also deployed disaster response teams from the police and the fire force to affected areas.

India's army said it had deployed more than 200 soldiers to the area to assist state security forces and fire crews in search-and-rescue efforts.

Frantic phone calls made by people desperately pleading for help after being trapped under destroyed houses and piles of debris highlighted the intensity of the deadly landslide.

TV channels aired heart-wrenching phone conversations of several people crying and pleading to be rescued as they were either trapped in their houses or had no way to travel due to washed-away bridges and flooded roads.

In one such conversation, a woman, apparently a native of Chooralmala town, was heard crying aloud, saying someone in her house was trapped under marsh and debris and they could not pull her out.

A Defence PRO said on Tuesday that a team of 43 personnel, led by the Second-in-Command from the 122 Infantry Battalion of Territorial Army has been mobilised to bolster rescue efforts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the incident and said he spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and assured all possible help from the Centre to the state.