RAIGAD, India: Hopes for the survival of dozens missing after a landslide smashed into a village in India diminished Friday as rescuers battled rain and difficult terrain.
Heavy equipment couldn’t be brought to the hilly, forested site in Raigad district and emergency staff scrambled at mounds of earth and rubble as families tried to hold back their tears. Laxmi Kaluram Gavand broke down as she told how her entire family had been wiped out.
“All 10 members are gone. No one has survived from the family.”
So far, 22 people have been confirmed dead in Thursday landslide, India’s National Disaster Response Force said. The brother of Mangesh Bhagya Bohar, 50, was among dozens of people believed to be missing.
Rescue workers walk down a mud track leading to the site of a landslide at Irshalwadi village in Raigad district of India’s Maharashtra state on July 20, 2023. At least 10 people were killed after a landslide triggered by heavy rains smashed into their village in India’s Maharashtra state with dozens more feared trapped, officials said.
“We are losing hope as the mud has engulfed entire houses, waist high. The rescue workers have still not removed the mud,” he said.
“The landslide was so huge that we are still unable to identify where the house is.”
Rains have battered India since the start of the monsoon season in June, and flooding and landslides have killed scores of people.
Monsoon rains are vital to replenishing rivers and groundwater, but the deluge also causes widespread destruction every year.
Experts say climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events worldwide, with damming, deforestation and development projects in India exacerbating the human toll. —AFP
