The bodies were beyond recognition and skin was peeling off, as we pulled them out of debris 48-72 hours after the landslide. This was one of the reasons the rescue operation was called off,” recalled NDRF officer Santosh Bahadur Singh, who was heading the search at Irsalwadi village in Raigad.

It was one of the most challenging operations the team has ever conducted, said Singh, the commandant of 5th battalion (Maharashtra and Goa) of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The same team was involved in the rescue mission in Bhiwandi, where a two-storey building collapsed on April 29. Seven people were killed and many were trapped.