Raigad landslide: Death toll climbs to 26; rescue operation continues

The landslide devastated the lives of commoners in the village. File photo

The death toll in the landslide at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district reached 26 on Saturday with the search and rescue teams recovering four more bodies from the debris, an official said.

The bodies of three women and one man were recovered during the day, the official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said. "With the recovery of four bodies, the death toll in the landslide tragedy has now reached 26," he said, adding that the search and rescue work is still underway as 82 persons are yet to be traced.

The deceased whose bodies were recovered on Saturday were identified as Mahi Madhu Tirkad (32), Aashi Pandurang (50), Bharati Madhu Bhutabra (18) and Kishan Tirkad (27), officials said.

Teams of the NDRF and other government agencies resumed their search and rescue operation at the landslide site, located in a hilly terrain, in the morning. This is the third day of the search operation.

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.

As the village, overlooked by Irshalgad fort, a popular trekking destination, does not have a pucca road, earth movers and excavators could not be easily moved and the rescue operation is being carried out manually, officials said.

Had forest officials not razed their homes in the plains, the lives of 22 Irsalwadi villagers could have been saved, according to Boma Bihir. Two years ago, a small mudslide created panic among the villagers and gradually, most of them settled down the hillock. However, forest officials allegedly demolished their houses twice since, Bihir and other villagers said on Friday. The 85-year-old man, who has arrived from a village nearby, climbed for two hours to look for his daughter and her family who are still trapped under the debris from the landslide on Wednesday night.

Most villagers of Irsalwadi, now buried under debris and muck, painted the same picture of apathy and neglect on the part of the forest officials. A few villagers said they tried to settle in the plains even six months back, but their houses were demolished.