M A I N   N E W S

Houses buried in Pune landslip; 17 die
NDRF teams, UAVs search for survivors, bodies; PM mourns loss of lives
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 30
At least 17 persons were killed and several others injured following a landslide in Pune’s Malin village, causing extensive damage to houses.

Sources here heavy rains on Tuesday caused a hillside to cave in at Malin village in Pune's Ambegaon taluka this morning. More than 50 houses have been buried under the debris and around 160 pesons are believed to be trapped, the state police said.

Till late afternoon 17 bodies had been recovered and a search was on for more survivors. According to the state government's disaster management cell, the hillside came down around 5 am when the people were asleep.

However, it took nearly six hours for the rescue team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to rush to the site. Before leaving for the site, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the village had 700 inhabitants. The CM and two ministers went to the site to oversee relief and rescue operations.

Chavan said two companies of the NDRF had reached the site and they were trying to evacuate people whose houses were at risk from further landslides.

In all, 400 NDRF personnel were engaged in the rescue operations. Besides two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been deployed. However, the relief work was hampered by heavy rains and muddy roads.

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil, in whose constituency the area falls, said it was very difficult for rescue teams to reach the area as connectivity was very poor.

"This is a very remote area and we are finding it difficult to rush medical aid and heavy equipment," Walse- Patil told reporters. He added that the local administration was getting earth-moving equipment to clear the road for rescue teams.

State government officials said they had requisitioned more personnel from the NDRF for rescue operations.

In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in landslide in Pune and directed that all possible help should be provided to the affected people. He also directed Home Minister Rajnath Singh to rush to Pune to take stock of the situation, a PMO statement said.

“The Prime Minister has condoled the loss of lives in the landslide and directed all possible efforts to help the affected people,” the statement said.