Maharashtra: Raigad landslide kills 16; rescuers to look for 135 others today

By Shirish Vaktania Faizan Khan and Apoorva AgasheMost villagers had gone to bed when a massive landslide struck their hamlet at Irsalwadi around 1030 pm on Wednesday burying most of the houses and claiming at least 16 lives so far According to officials close to 135 people are still feared trapped under the debris and muckThe rescue teams managed to bring close to 90 individuals to safety before calling off the search operation at 530 pm due to low visibility Irsalwadi a village in Khalapur tehsil of the Raigad district approximately 60 km from Mumbai is located about 34 km uphillChallengesDue to the difficult terrain and the inclement weather conditions the rescuers are facing challenges in retrieving the bodies They had to climb hills to reach the main road The rescue operation will resume on Friday morning said officialsVillagers help rescue teams find trapped victims PicsSatej ShindeChief Minister Eknath Shinde who arrived at the village on Wednesday night has assured that sufficient manpower and machinery are available for the rescue efforts and that two Indian Air Force IAF helicopters are on standbyApproximately 2000 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force NDRF fire brigade and Thane Disaster Relief Force TDRF and police have been deployed for the rescue operation Trained hikers have also been roped in officials said Also 500 workers from CIDCO have been sent to assist themMore team on the wayldquoDue to immense rain and bad weather there are difficulties in the rescue operation but the team is finding ways to overcome itrdquo Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saidldquoMedical teams too have been deployed at the spot The state control room is in constant touch with the local administration The possibility of airlifting two earthmoving machines are also being exploredrdquo Fadanvis saidIn the past three days around 499 mm of rainfall has been recorded at IrsalwadiLast ritesmidday reporter Shirish Vaktania who climbed the hills to reach the affected village saw that the recovered bodies were being buried close to the landslide siteManisha Ghorte a relative of one of the victims identified as Radhi told midday ldquoWe received a distress call from the villagers and rushed to the hillside We found Radhirsquos lifeless body amid the debrisrdquoGhorte said they have no objection to the authorities cremating Radhirsquos body at the site of the incident90Approx No of villagers pulled out of debris2000Approx No of rescuers deployed for rescue499mmRainfall the area received for 3 days straight ending ThursdayBMC dispatches Bobcat machinesThe Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has sent the staff of the Solid Waste Management Department to Raigad with three heavy Bobcat machines to help in the rescue operation ldquoThree vehicles have been dispatched one each from Mahim Retibandar Mulund and Juhu An excavator has also been sentrdquo said an official