GUWAHATI, India, July 2, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The search for survivors buried
under a landslide in India's northeast entered its third day Saturday with 25
bodies pulled from the rubble and nearly 40 people still missing.
Security forces and disaster relief teams raced against the clock to find any
more survivors trapped under the debris at a railway construction camp in
Manipur state.
Most of the victims were reserve soldiers from the Territorial Army who had
been working on the railway project.
Eighteen people have so far been pulled alive from the earth with no more
rescued overnight, an army statement said, while 12 reservists and 26
civilians remain missing.
The situation at the scene of the landslide was "still serious" with rainfall
and bad weather hampering rescue efforts, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren
Singh said.
India's remote northeast has been pummelled by heavy rainfall in recent
weeks, triggering landslides and floods.
Dozens were killed in the region after flooding last month, with relentless
rains causing landslides and inundating homes.
Earlier this year, at least 10 people, including a four-year-old child, were
killed in floods and landslides after unusually heavy rains hit several parts
of India.
Experts say climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events
around the world, with damming, deforestation and development projects in
India exacerbating the human toll.