Relentless downpours and howling winds hampered Wednesday's search for survivors of landslides that struck Indian tea plantations and killed 122 people, most believed to be labourers and their families.
Days of torrential monsoon rains have battered the southern coastal state of Kerala, with blocked roads into the disaster area in Wayanad district complicating relief efforts.
Several who managed to flee the initial impact of the landslides found themselves caught in raging flood waters coursing through a nearby river, volunteer rescuer Arun Dev told AFP at a hospital treating survivors.
"Those who escaped were swept away along with houses, temples and schools," he said.
Wayanad is famed for the tea estates that crisscross its hilly countryside, which rely on a large pool of labourers for planting and harvest.
Several plantations were hit by two successive landslides before dawn on Tuesday.
A number of brick-walled row homes built to accommodate seasonal workers were inundated by a powerful wall of brown sludge while labourers working on the estates and their families were asleep inside.
Other buildings were caked with mud as the force of the landslide scattered cars, corrugated iron and other debris around the disaster site.
The office of Kerala's revenue minister K. Rajan told reporters that 122 bodies had been recovered as of midnight Wednesday (1830 GMT Tuesday).
Flood waters washed away a bridge connecting the worst-hit villages of Chooralmala and Mundakkai, forcing rescue teams to trudge on foot through difficult terrain.
More than 3,000 people were sheltering in emergency relief camps around Wayanad district, according to the state government.
Kerala's disaster agency said more rain and strong winds were forecast for Thursday with the likelihood of "damage to unsafe structures" elsewhere in the state.
