Raigad landslide claims 16 lives so far, NDRF resumes day 2 search & rescue ops
A total of 16 bodies have been recovered and 21 poeple were rescued so far at the landslide-hit Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, according to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
The search and rescue operation resumed for the second day after the authorities earlier halted the operation fearing possible landslide during the night amid incessant rainfall.
“Due to heavy rainfall and the threat of further landslide in the dark, the rescue operation has been called off with consultation of local administration and will resume tomorrow morning,” the NDRF said on Thursday.
The landslide occurred at Wednesday night in the village situated on a hill slope in the coastal district around 80 km from Mumbai, flattening 17 out of 50 houses in the area.
Challenges in the rescue operation
Due to unstable terrain in of the village, search and rescue teams were facing hurdles to use heavy machines in carrying out the operation. They had to clear the large portion of mud manually.
Due to tough topography, heavy machinery such as earth-movers and excavators could not be moved to the hilltop.
“Disaster management operations and a base camp have been set up at the foothills as it is impossible for JCB machines or any other vehicle to reach the disaster spot. The village takes one-half hours for a person to walk from the foothills and is accessible only to able-bodied men and trekkers, who are involved in the manual rescue operations at the moment,” deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said earlier in the legislative assembly.
Likewise, chief minister Eknath Shinde approached the Indian Air Force for support in airlifting the villagers. However, low visibility due to inclement weather in the area made it challenging for the personnel to carry out arial rescue operation.
Flood-like situation in Raigad
Parts of the coastal district experienced a flood-like situation due to heavy rains, damaging at least 125 houses. 17 out of 28 dams were overflowing after several places received over 200 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.
Red alert for several districts
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a ‘Red’ alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in the districts of Thane, Raigad, Pune, and Palghar for today and tomorrow. An ‘Orange’ alert has also been issued for Mumbai and Ratnagiri.