Raigad (Maharashtra): The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has recovered 16 bodies from the Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district, where a massive landslide buried several houses, an official said on Friday.
The NDRF also resumed the rescue and search operation at the village, which is situated on a hill slope, under the Khalapur tehsil. The landslide occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday, July 19. According to the official, of the total 228 residents of the village, the bodies of 16 have been recovered, while 93 residents have been traced.
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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, the official said, adding of the nearly 50 houses in the village, the landslide flattened 17.
"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," 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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the village on Thursday morning. The Maharashtra government has already announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh to the kin of the deceased. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that he was pained by the tragic incident.
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