Raigad landslide: Toll rises to 18, NDRF says it is a long and challenging trek | Visuals

The toll in Raigad landslide rose to 18 on Friday. As many as 16 bodies were recovered and 21 were rescued on Thursday. This toll rose as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) resumed rescue operations at Irshalgad in the Khalapur area of the Raigad district of Maharashtra on Friday.

The rescue operation was called off on Thursday evening owing to heavy rainfall and the threat of further landslide in the dark. "The final figure for today (Thursday) is 16 dead bodies recovered and 21 people rescued," the NDRF said in a tweet.

Raigad: NDRF personnel during a search and rescue operation after a landslide at Irshalwadi village in Raigad district, Friday, July 21, 2023. At least 16 people were killed in the incident, according to officials. (PTI Photo)(PTI07_21_2023_000012B)

Giving details of the rescue operation, Rahul Kumar Raghuwansh, Inspector, 5BN, NDRF, told news agency ANI that the agency conducted three types of searches. "We will conduct canine and physical searches here," he added.

Informing about the difficulties faced by officials in the rescue operation, Raghuwansh said, "It is a long and challenging trek, but we are trained for it...Yesterday, when we received the information, our four teams reached the spot and started with the search and rescue operation," he added.

Thick fog and heavy rain had hampered already difficult rescue efforts even further on Friday. "It is not possible to look for people in the dark in such terrain," Director General of the NDRF, Atul Karwal, told Reuters, adding he remained hopeful more could be found alive.

The landslide occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday at the tribal village, situated on a hill slope, under Khalapur tehsil of the coastal district, around 80 km from Mumbai. Of the total 228 residents of the village, the bodies of 16 have been recovered, while 93 residents have been traced, he said.

However, a total of 119 villagers are yet to be traced. They include those who had gone out of the village to attend a marriage or for rice plantation work, he said. Of the nearly 50 houses in the village, the landslide flattened 17, officials were quoted by PTI as saying.

Heavy rainfall continues to lash Raigad and other parts of Maharashtra, causing severe waterlogging on streets, overflowing of rivers and flood-like situations in a few villages.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 people from Biloli tehsil in Maharashtra's Nanded district were shifted to safety as heavy rains caused the flood-like situation in 12 villages, officials said.