Mumbai: An official reported that the rescue and search efforts were begun on Friday morning at the Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district, where a large landslide had buried many homes and killed at least 16 people so far.
Around 80 kilometres from Mumbai, in the Khalapur tehsil of the coastal district, a tribal settlement on a hillside experienced a landslide on Wednesday night around 11 p.m. He claimed that out of the village's 228 residents, 16 bodies had been found and 93 had been traced.
However, a total of 119 villagers are yet to be traced. They include those who had gone out of the village to attend a marriage or for rice plantation work, he said.
Of the nearly 50 houses in the village, the landslide flattened 17, officials said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with teams of Raigad police and local authorities began the operation for the second day at the remote village, the official said.
“At least four NDRF teams reached the landslide site this morning and started the operation. Teams of the Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), local disaster management authorities, and Raigad police are also engaged in the operation,” he said.
On Thursday, the rescue and search teams recovered 16 bodies from the landslide, while 21 people were rescued.
“The deceased included four children between the age group of one to four years and a 70-year-old person,” he said, adding seven persons are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.
The search and rescue personnel at the site were facing hurdles due to the difficult hill terrain of the area where heavy equipment cannot be easily moved.
“Incessant rain, fog and gusty winds at the hilltop, those involved in the search and rescue operation are facing difficulties,” the official said.
From the hill base, it takes around one-and-a-half hours to reach Irshalwadi, which does not have a pucca road.
As the village does not have a pucca road, earth movers and excavators could not be easily moved and hence the operation is being carried out manually, the official said.
The NDRF personnel had to stop their search and rescue operation at the landslide site on Thursday evening due to bad weather.
With PTI inputs