AT LEAST 16 people were killed when a massive landslide struck a remote hilly tribal village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district overnight amid rains, while the National Disaster Response Force stopped its day-long search and rescue operation for survivors due to downpour on Thursday, NDRF officials said. As many as 21 people were rescued from the site, they said. The landslide occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday at Irshalwadi village, situated on a hill slope, under Khalapur tehsil of the coastal district, around 80 km from Mumbai, and flattened 17 of the nearly 50 houses in the hamlet, an official said. The incident took place after torrential rains in the hilly area. From the hill base, it takes around 1.5 hours to reach Irshalwadi, which does not have a pucca road. NDRF and police officials said 16 bodies were recovered from the landslide site during the day, while 21 people were rescued.

 

The Raigad police said last rites of 13 victims were performed near the disaster site. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited Irshalwadi in the morning to take stock of the situation and spoke to personnel engaged in the rescue operation. “Irshalwadi was not on the list of landslide-prone villages. Our priority now is to rescue those still trapped beneath the rubble,” he told reporters at the site. This is a very unfortunate incident and the State Government stands with the affected people, the CM said. There is continuous heavy rainfall and the debris and rubble has mounted up to 15 to 20 feet, he said. Shinde said authorities were not able to move the machinery for the rescue operation.

 

Two helicopters have been kept ready for the operation, but they have not been able to take-off due to bad weather, he said. On rehabilitation of the landslide-affected villagers, the CM said 50 to 60 containers have been arranged for them (as temporary shelters) and there was a plan to move them to a safer place. “We will soon take steps to carry out proper rehabilitation of the landslide-affected villagers. I have spoken to the divisional commissioner and district collector and discussed about permanent rehabilitation of these villagers immediately. We are doing it on a war-footing,” Shinde said. Search and rescue personnel at the site were facing hurdles due to the difficult hill terrain of the area where heavy equipment cannot be easily moved, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other officials said.