How Portable Bridge Developed During World War 2 Is Aiding Wayanad Rescue

Portable bridges, the kind of which was first used during the Second World War, are being used to rescue people from areas cut off in the wake of the landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad. Components for putting together such bridges, known as Bailey bridges, have been airlifted to affected areas so that they can be used to make exit routes for stranded people in areas where roads have been washed away during the calamity. 

Supplies to put together a 110-feet Bailey bridge have been airlifted from Delhi to Kozhikode. The Army is preparing another 170-feet portable bridge, supplies for which were airlifted from Bengaluru.  One of these bridges will be used to connect Chooralmala and Mundakkai.

A report by Manorama Online has quoted state minister K Rajan as saying that an Army team from Madras Engineering Group has started building the bridge and it may be completed by the evening. The minister has said that the bridge is critical because excavators need to be deployed for rescue work. Some parts of the bridge have been airlifted and other components rushed to Wayanad by road. The minister said the Army may take four-five hours to finish the bridge. 

Photographs shared by the Army show several makeshift bridges being used as relief columns to rescue people from areas where the landslides have disrupted connectivity.

What Is A Bailey Bridge?

Bailey bridges were developed by the British in 1940-41 during the Second World War. These truss bridges require no special tools to assemble, and the necessary parts can be easily transported. The bridges are now extensively used to create temporary pathways during natural disasters and in construction projects.

Bailey bridges are named after Donald Bailey, a civil servant in the British War Office who tinkered with model bridges as a hobby. His first prototype was rejected. And then Dunkirk happened and the British Army somehow managed to avert a disaster. Bailey’s proposal was finally accepted, and some of the Bailey Bridges built during the Second World War could bear the weight of tanks too. In fact, Britain’s late Field Marshal Viscount Bernard Montgomery had said, “Without the Bailey Bridge we should not have won the war.”

What’s The Wayanad Situation

The death count due to the landslides in Wayanad has climbed to 143 and nearly 200 people are still missing. The number of injured has crossed 200. Multiple agencies, including Army, Navy and NDRF are carrying out the rescue operation and looking for survivors in areas worst affected by the calamity. The Air Force has joined the ops too and is coordinating with the other agencies to locate people stranded after many areas lost road connectivity.

Three landslides took place amid heavy rain and within a few hours late on Monday night. The timing was such that most people were sleeping and were caught off-guard. Many bodies were found on cots, covered in mud. Areas worst affected by landslides include Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets.