Death toll in landslide at tribal village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district rises to 21

Mumbai, July 21

With the recovery of five more bodies from the debris at the landslide-affected Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, the toll increased to 21 on Friday, an official said.

Of the five victims whose bodies were pulled out since the morning, three were men and two women, he said.

Four children, aged between 6 months to four years and including two siblings, are among the 21 deceased, said the official.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams resumed their search and rescue operation at the landslide site, located in a hilly terrain, around 6.30 am amid rainfall in the area after suspending the exercise overnight, said the official.

Local villagers and relatives of the people trapped under the debris are assisting the rescue teams, he said.

The massive landslide hit Irshalwadi, a tribal village located on a hill slope in the coastal district, around 80km from Mumbai, on Wednesday night. Till Thursday, 16 people had perished in the tragedy.

Of the total 228 residents of the village, the bodies of 21 have been recovered, while 93 residents have been traced, he said.

However, a total of 114 villagers are yet to be located. They include those who had gone out of the village to attend a marriage or for rice plantation work, the official said.

As the remote 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, he said.

NDRF personnel had to stop their search and rescue operation at the landslide site on Thursday evening due to bad weather.