Imphal: The death toll from the devastating landslide in Manipur’s Noney district has risen to 21 as the continuing rescue operation led to the recovery of 13 more bodies today, officials said on Friday.
As over 55 people including a large number of Territorial Army personnel remained missing after the massive landslide, the death toll is likely to increase, the officials added.
The massive landslide hit the Tupul Railway construction camp in the wee hours of Thursday. The landslide was so devastating that it not only buried camps of the Territorial Army and railway workers, the debris also blocked the Ijei River. Among the 13 dead bodies recovered on day- two of the rescue operation, 10 of them were personnel of the Territorial Army and the rest three were workers of the railway construction, the officials further informed.
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On day-one of the operation, dead bodies of eight people including seven personnel of the TA were recovered. Officials said that over 55 people including personnel of the TA remained missing and the rescue operations were intensified today.
Sophistical machines for locating human bodies brought from Ladakh including ‘Through Wall Imaging Radars’ are also deployed to trace the missing people, the source said.
The rescue operation was being launched by a Joint Task Force comprising Army, Assam Rifles, NDRF, SDRF, CRPF, Army Medical Doctors, Manipur police and fire service personnel.
Volunteers of the Manipur Mountaineering and Tracking Association (MMTA) and villagers of Makhuam are also involved in the operations.
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