Mumbai: A massive landslide killed at least 16 people in the Raigad district of Maharashtra on Wednesday. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team led operations and rescued 93 people till now. 119 villagers are yet to be traced. Four rescue units were deployed along with Raigad police and local authorities to rescue the villagers trapped under debris.
The difficult topography and terrain of the landslide-hit area are posing hurdles for the rescue team. It takes around one-and-a-half hours to reach the disaster site from the hill base. Rescue operation is being carried out manually since there is no proper road for earth movers and excavators to make it to the devastated land. "The NDRF personnel had to stop their search and rescue operation at the landslide site on Thursday evening due to bad weather," said officials.
The affected hamlet has around 50 houses, of which 17 were buried under the rubble. The village is six km from Morbe Dam, which supplies water to Navi Mumbai. Those rescued have been admitted to a hospital in Navi Mumbai, said minister Uday Samant.
The landslide occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday at Irshalwadi village in Khalapur tehsil, around 80 km from Mumbai, the official said. The village is located near Irshalgad fortress between Matheran and Panvel. Irshalwadi is a tribal village inaccessible by road. Chowk village on Mumbai-Pune Highway is the nearest place that has access by road. The district administration has requested trekkers' help in the search and rescue.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reached the site and spoke to personnel engaged in rescue operations. “This village was not on the list of landslide-prone villages,” he told the media. “Our priority now is to rescue those still trapped beneath the rubble," he added.
This is the biggest landslide in Maharashtra after the July 30, 2014 incident at Malin village in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district. That massive landslide had swallowed up almost the entire tribal village of around 50 families. The final death toll was 153 when the rescue operation was stopped. Nothing of the old village remains except for its school building.
(With inputs from PTI)
