Raigad landslide toll rises to 27; search ops continue

The death toll in the landslide at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district mounted to 27 on Saturday with the recovery of five more bodies from the debris on the third day of the search and rescue operation, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said.

He said 81 persons are yet to be traced.

The search and rescue operation was called off for the day due to bad light and inclement weather and it is likely to resume on Sunday morning.

Of the five bodies, four are identified while the identity and gender of the body recovered later in the day is not known yet, the official said.

"With the recovery of five bodies today, the death toll in the landslide tragedy has now reached 27," the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said.

Earlier in the day, the four persons whose bodies were retrieved from the debris were identified as Mahi Madhu Tirkad (32), Aashi Pandurang (50), Bharati Madhu Bhutabra (18), and Kishan Tirkad (27), officials said.

The rescue operation is being carried out manually as earth movers and excavators could not be easily moved to the village, overlooked by Irshalgad fort, a popular trekking destination, in the absence of a pucca road.

Of the 27 bodies recovered so far, 12 are women, 10 men and four children, while one person remains unidentified, officials said.

Nine members of a family had perished in the disaster.

On Saturday morning, teams of the NDRF and other government agencies resumed their search and rescue operation at the landslide site in Raigad district.

The massive landslide hit Irshalwadi, a tribal village located on a hill slope in the coastal district, around 80 km from Mumbai, on Wednesday night.

At least 17 of 48 houses in the village were fully or partially buried under the landslide debris.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met residents of Irshalwadi.

He said people living in landslide-prone areas in Maharashtra should be moved to safer locations.

Not just Irsahlwadi. All such localities should be rehabilitated in nearby villages or areas, he said.

The former chief minister said he had planned a scheme to rehabilitate villages residing in landslide-prone areas to safer places.