Manipur landslide: 20 bodies recovered, search on for 44 others

The Army on Friday said bodies of 15 Territorial Army personnel and five civilians have been recovered so far from Tupul railway yard in Manipur's Noney district where a massive landslide struck on Wednesday night while search continued for 44 others.

A statement issued by the Army said that 18 persons, of which 13 are from the Territorial Army, have been rescued from the mud and debris, during the search, which was launched soon after the disaster.

"Relentless search operations by Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Territorial Army, SDRF and NDRF continued throughout the day on Friday. A wall radar is being used to detect any human presence inside the mud pile," defence spokesperson, Lt. Col. Sumit Sharma, based at Kohima in neighbouring Nagaland, said in a statement.

A hillock collapsed on a camp housing workers engaged by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) for construction of a railway line from Jiribam to Manipur capital Imphal, on Wednesday following heavy rains. Personnel of 107 Territorial Army, who were deployed for security of the railway staff and the construction workers, also got trapped in the landslide. Three engineers of the NFR are also among the victims.

Manipur CM N. Biren Singh, who visited the site for the second day on Friday said rescue workers struggled due to the loose soil and mud. "Due to the soft condition of the soil, the road to the actual area of landslide couldn’t be restored. But the state government and other agencies are putting all efforts using possible manpower and machines to recover the missing persons," he said. Singh said there were 82 persons on the site when the landslide took place.

The rescue workers on Friday managed to clear the debris from the Ijai river, which got blocked due to the massive landslide. A statement issued by the NDRF said three teams equipped with canine squad and other equipment joined the rescue efforts, along with other agencies.

Singh said the Army airlifted a wall radar from Ladakh to assist in the search operation.

The CM on Thursday announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakh for family members of each deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured in the disaster.