A fresh landslide struck Veeramala hill, a site under the National Highway development project, near Cheruvathur in Kasaragod on Wednesday morning, bringing traffic on the route to a standstill after tonnes of soil tumbled onto the road.

Fire and Rescue Services personnel, along with local residents, have launched a clearing operation. There are suspicions that a lorry may have been buried under the debris, but this remains unconfirmed.

The area had witnessed a similar incident earlier in which a road worker was injured. A subsequent drone survey conducted in the presence of the District Collector, identified unscientific excavation as the cause of repeated landslips. The contracting firm Megha Construction was fined heavily after the inspection.

Though one side of the hill collapsed entirely onto the road, authorities said a major tragedy was narrowly averted due to low traffic at the time. Efforts are underway to clear the debris and traffic is expected to be restored soon.