At least 17 people are estimated to have been killed and over 150 are feared trapped under debris after a landslide triggered by heavy rains hit a village in Pune district of Maharashtra on Wednesday.
Around forty houses in Malin village in Ambegaon taluka of the district that came in the landslide’s path of destruction were completely destroyed. The landslide was triggered after two lakes in the region overflowed on Wednesday morning. There are over 750 residents in the village, reports said.
The ill-fated village is just 10 kilometres from Bhimashankar Jyotirling Temple and 70 kilometres from Pune city.
The district administration has activated search and rescue operations. PIB India informed that all seven NDRF teams have reached the affected area and started rescue operation with state-of-the-art equipment and communication sets. Two more teams are moving from Mumbai.
With rescue work underway, six trapped victims have been rescued so far.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh is heading for Pune to visit the landslide affected area. He will also review the rescue operations that are underway to rescue the people trapped under the debris.
Rajnath decided to leave for the devastated Pune village after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to him on the tragedy.
Modi said that the loss of lives in the landslide in the Pune’s district Malin village is saddening. “Loss of lives in landslide in Pune dist. is saddening. Spoke to Rajnathji and he would be travelling to Pune to take stock of the situation,” Modi tweeted.
“I am deeply shocked and saddened to know about the incident of landslide in Pune district in which several people are feared to be trapped and houses in the entire village have been buried in the landslide in the early hours of Wednesday (30 July),” the Governor said in a statement.
“This is a most unfortunate incident and my heart goes out to the people who are trapped.
“The administration and disaster management agencies are making their best efforts to rescue maximum number of people safely. I pray for the safety of people trapped in the landslide and convey my heartfelt condolences to the next of kin of those whose lives were lost in the incident,” the Maharashtra Governor said.
