Armenia has expressed condolences to the families of the victims of twin landslides that struck the coastal state of Kerala.

“Saddened to learn of the massive landslides in the #Wayanad district, #Kerala, which caused loss of lives, injuries & extensive damages”, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in a post on X on Thursday, August 1.

“My deepest condolences & sincere sympathies to the bereaved families.”

Days of torrential monsoon rains battered the southern coastal state of Kerala before twin landslides struck before dawn on Tuesday, with more than 500 soldiers among the rescue crews, AFP says.

Military engineers laid a temporary bridge to speed up search efforts after earlier relying on jury-rigged ziplines to transport recovered bodies over raging waters.

"The assumption is that there is nobody left to be rescued," a statement issued late Thursday by the Kerala state government said.

Around 8,000 people were taking shelter at emergency camps around the disaster site in Wayanad district.

State health minister Veena George said relief workers in the camps were counselling traumatised survivors and cremating dead animals in an effort to prevent disease outbreaks.

George told AFP on Friday that 199 bodies had been recovered.

But the final toll is certain to be higher, with rescuers reporting the gruesome discovery of more than 100 body parts in flood waters or buried in the muddy earth.