The search for missing villagers has concluded following a landslide that buried at least 17 houses and resulted in 27 fatalities.
The catastrophe occurred in Irshalwadi, a village located in the Raigad district of western India, on the night of Wednesday, July 19.
Persistent heavy monsoon rains induced the landslide, resulting in the houses being covered by a sea of debris. The loss of life amounts to 27 people, among them four children, with 78 individuals still unaccounted for.
Over the span of four days, rescue teams exerted immense effort, succeeding in rescuing around 75 people and searching the unstable terrain for survivors. However, these attempts were eventually discontinued.
Deepak Avadh, a representative of the National Disaster Response Force, announced the decision to halt the rescue operations. He acknowledged the complex situation and the dwindling likelihood of locating additional survivors.
The isolated location of the village presented significant hurdles for the rescue mission. From a base camp rescuers had to walk 90 minutes by foot to reach the village. Due to unpaved roads and a vast sludge area, heavy machinery such as earthmovers and excavators were unable to reach the disaster zone. Consequently, rescuers relied on hand tools like rods and shovels to sift through the rubble. Sniffer dogs were also utilized in an effort to detect any signs of life.
This incident coincides with ceaseless rainfall that has affected Maharashtra state, leading to flooding in local train stations and disruption of services in various areas.
The region has experienced over 100 deaths in the past three weeks due to unprecedented monsoon rains which have caused additional landslides and the collapse of houses.
The rising irregularity of monsoons in India’s Himalayan north, leading to increased landslides and flash floods, has been attributed to climate change by scientists. Despite the monsoon season being essential for rain-fed crops, it has increasingly become associated with devastation and loss of human lives in the region.
