MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – Eight people reported dead and more than 150 entrapped under the debris left by a monstrous landslide in the village of Malin in Maharashtra’s Pune district, according to The Times of India.
"About 40 homes located under a hillock came under boulders, debris and mud after the landslide that happened in the early hours," the periodical cites authorities as saying.
Two people have already been found alive, the paper reports with reference to additional district collector Ganesh Patil.
Local authorities, however, fear that more bodies may be recovered in the course of rescue operations.
Around 80 specialists from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been dispatched in the town of Ambeon with another 220 rescuers still on the road to join those already working at the site of the landslide, The Times of India cites a home ministry spokesperson as saying.
"Two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with rescue teams of Pune Municipal Corporation have been deployed at the site. Besides, local teams from Khed, Junnar and Ambegaon tehsiles have been asked to join the rescue operations. Teams of medical staff from nearby government hospitals and a fleet of 25 ambulances have also been pressed to rescue villagers trapped under the debris", authorities reported.
Amid rescue operations, workers are trying to restore communication networks. Professional mountaineers were also sent in to aid in the operation, as the area of the catastrophe is located around 12 km away from Dimbhe dam in a remote hilly part of the country with no mobile coverage.
According to local authorities, due to heavy rains the region has been experiencing for the last few days, part of a hill slid off and crashed on the village of Malin.
India’s Home minister Rajnath Singh, along with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan are to visit the area today, reports The Times of India.
