Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police has sent a sniffer dog to Kerala to assist in the rescue operation at landslide-hit Wayanad.

Sniffer dog ‘Storm’ along with a five-member team of Odisha Police today boarded a train at Berhampur railway station to reach Kerala.

As per the direction of Director General (DG) of Odisha Police Arun Sarangi, the canine squad from Berhampur proceeded to Kerala to assist in the rescue operation.

Sniffer dog ‘Strom’ has been a part of the canine squad at Berhampur since last seven years. It has been specially trained to trace people trapped under debris and mud following natural calamities like earthquake and landslide, sources said.

The police team deputed to Kerala includes sniffer dog Storm’s trainer Prahalad Nayak.

Hundreds of people were affected by the devastating landslides that hit Wayanad following heavy rain at the southern state on July 30.

Houses in several localities of Wayanad were completed destroyed by the landslides. The authorities in Kerala have so far confirmed 357 deaths in the calamity. Over 200 people are still missing.

Kerala government along with the Indian Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been undertaking a massive operation to trace the missing person.