The toll due to a landslide near a railway construction site in Manipur’s Noney district rose to 46 on Monday after four more bodies were recovered from the debris, PTI reported, citing rescue officials.
The bodies recovered on Monday have not been identified yet. Till Sunday, 27 of those dead were Territorial Army officials and 15 were civilians, the Defence Public Relations Office in Guwahati had said in a press release.
Twenty persons were still missing on Sunday as heavy rains and fresh landslides have been hampering search operations since July 2, a defence spokesperson in Guwahati told PTI.
“Relentless effort to find the remaining three missing Territorial Army personnel and 17 civilians will continue,” he said.
The landslide was triggered on June 29 night close to a camp of a company of the 107 Territorial Army that was deployed at a construction site near the Tupul railway station. The company was deployed for protecting an under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Imphal.
The Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Territorial Army and state and national disaster response forces personnel are part of the search operation.
Till Sunday, 13 Territorial Army personnel and five civilians have been rescued, according to the press release. Bodies of seven Territorial Army personnel were sent to their hometowns in West Bengal and Tripura on Sunday, the spokesperson said.
“The search operation is continuing despite adverse weather conditions, owing to heavy rains and fresh landslides last night,” the spokesperson said.
He said that Through Wall Imaging Radar technology was being used to find the missing persons. The technology allows users to see through walls and solid structure such as debris. A search and rescue dog has also been brought in to assist in the efforts, the spokesperson added.
Other officials said that the debris had blocked the Ijei river, creating a reservoir that might inundate the low-lying areas. They said that work was underway to clear the debris to let the water flow out.
Three more arrested for damaging embankment
Meanwhile, the Assam Police on Saturday night arrested three more persons for allegedly damaging an embankment on the Barak river which led to flooding in Silchar town, The Telegraph reported.
Silchar has been among the regions worst affected by floods in Assam that have claimed 179 lives so far.
Cachar Superintendent of Police Ramandeep Kaur Dhillon said that the persons who have been arrested are Mitu Hussain Laskar, Nazir Hussain Laskar and Ripon Khan. On Friday, the police had arrested a man named Kabul Khan in connection with the same allegations.
Dhillon said that the irrigation department had filed a complaint about some persons damaging the Bethukandi embankment on May 23.
“We conducted our inquiry based on the irrigation department’s complaint about miscreants damaging the dyke and registered a case on June 21,” she said.
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