Landslides triggered by overnight heavy rains on Thursday left 15 people dead in Baram village of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand. 

The landslides swept away five houses in the village with all the 15 victims getting buried alive in the debris within seconds, disaster management minister Diwakar Bhatt said.

All the victims were sleeping as the landslides struck just before the dawn.

Soon after the news spread, senior administrative and police officials along with para military personnel rushed to the spot and launched relief and rescue operations in the area amid heavy rains. Police also fanned out to nearby areas to look for bodies as hope of any survival was dim.

Ten bodies have been recovered so far while search for five remaining bodies was also continuing.

Five persons, who were injured, have been rushed to nearby hospitals where their condition is stated to be serious.

Chief Minister B C Khanduri expressed concern over the landslides and asked the district administration to speed up the rescue and relief work.

Heavy rains in the area were hampering relief work. Met department director Anand Sharma in Dehra Dun warned that “heavy rains can continue in the state which may trigger landslides”.

Pithoragarh falls under high seismic zone where landslides are common. During this monsoon season, nearly 77 persons have so far been killed in different landslides and related incidents in the state. The area where the latest mishap occurred is not very far away from the Malpa tragedy spot where danseuse Protima Bedi and 200 others were killed in 1998.