AT LEAST 25 people, including 13 in a collapsed stone quarry, were killed in Mizoram on Tuesday due to landslides and incessant rain in the aftermath of cyclone Remal, officials said. In a massive landslide, at least 13 people, including two minors, were killed and eight others were missing as a stone quarry collapsed in Aizawl district, a report of the Mizoram State Disaster Management Authority (MSDMA) said. The incident happened around 6 am in an area between Melthum and Hlimen on the southern outskirts of the Aizawl town, an official said. The report stated that several houses and worker camps caved in due to the impact of the landslide, burying at least 21 people beneath the debris. “So far, 13 bodies have been recovered and eight people are still missing. Among the deceased in the stone quarry collapse are a four-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl,” a police officer said. Aizawl’s Deputy Commissioner Nazuk Kumar told PTI that the search operations will continue till the entire site is cleared.

 

Earlier in the day, Director General of Police Anil Shukla claimed that 17 bodies were recovered from the collapsed stone quarry. “We suspect that 6-7 people are still trapped inside the debris,” he told PTI, adding that heavy rain was affecting the rescue operations at the disaster site. A landslide swept away a building in Aizawl’s Salem Veng, following which three persons went missing. Search is underway for them, an official said. The State capital has been cut off from the rest of the country due to a landslide on National Highway 6 at Hunthar, officials said. Besides, several intra-state highways have also been disrupted by landslides, they said. Chief Minister Lalduhoma convened an emergency meeting with Home Minister K Sapdanga, Chief Secretary Renu Sharma and other senior officials to take stock of the situation, a senior official said. The CM announced Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia for the families of those killed in calamities caused by rains, including the quarry collapse. He handed over cheques of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the eight Mizo people who died in the quarry collapse and said the remaining amount would be given to them soon.