The search and rescue operation resumed at the landslide site at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra’s Raigad district early Friday morning. At least 16 people were killed and several houses were buried under rubble after a landslide in Khalapur’s Irsalvadi village on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday amid heavy rainfall in Maharashtra.
#WATCH | Raigad, Maharashtra: Canine squad carries out search operation in landslide-hit area. https://t.co/ZLiJm36aZ8 pic.twitter.com/xGHghObJEB— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2023
Four teams of NDRF were deployed at the site of the landslide. The search and rescue operation was called off yesterday evening due to continuous and heavy rain and the threat of further landslides.
Quoting an official, a PTI report said of the total 228 residents of the village, the bodies of 16 have been recovered, and 93 residents have been traced. However, a total of 119 villagers are yet to be traced.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde visited the spot yesterday evening and took stock of the situation.
Raigad Landslide Latest Updates
- Maharashtra’s second Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar is set to visit the site of the landslide tragedy today.
- The search and rescue operation was resumed at 6:30 am on Friday.
- Out of nearly 50 houses in the village, 17 were flattened by the landslide, officials 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," an official was quoted by PTI as saying.
- “We have roped in a dog squad to assist the personnel in the search operation," an NDRF official added.
- As many as 21 people were rescued from the site on Thursday.
- “The deceased included four children between the age group of one to four years and a 70-year-old person," an NDRF official told PTI.
- Seven injured persons are undergoing treatment at various hospitals, the official added.
- Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday said DCM Devendra Fadnavis’ birthday won’t be celebrated in view of the landslide tragedy. Instead, it will be marked as ‘Seva Saptaaha’, he added.