Maharashtra: NDRF calls off Raigad rescue efforts, 57 remain untraceable

Of the 228 residents of the village, 57 are still untraceable, Samant, the guardian minister of Raigad, told mediapersons.

The National Disaster Response Force on Sunday called of its search and rescue operation in Wednesday’s landslide in Irshalwadi in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, state minister Uday Samant said.

NDRF calls off rescue operation in Raigad landslides on Sunday. (AFP)

Of the 228 residents of the village, 57 are still untraceable, Samant, the guardian minister of Raigad, told mediapersons.

“There were 228 people in the village, of which 57 are untraceable, while bodies of 27 have been recovered. Of the 43 families in the hamlet, two families perished completely, while 41 families, comprising 144 persons, have been provided shelter in a temple,” Samant said.

The decision to finally call off the operation was taken in consultation with the district administration and other concerned authorities, he added.

“The last body discovered on Saturday was in bad state,” he said, adding that the families of the people still missing have also agreed to calling off the search.

Raigad collector Yogesh Mhase, who was also at the spot on Sunday, said that victims had been buried under nearly 10 feet of mud for the last four days.

“The last body recovered on Saturday was highly decomposed, and the rescuers were dredging mutilated body parts,” he said.

“It is not possible to find anyone still living in these circumstances,” he said.

The 27 deceased include 12 men, 10 women and four children, while one body has not been identified as yet, officials said.

At least 17 of 48 houses in the remote tribal village, which is at least an hour away from a motorable road, were fully or partially buried in the landslide that hit the village at around 10.30pm on July 19.

More than 1,100 people, including NDRF personnel, were engaged in the search and rescue operation which lasted four days.

“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has directed CIDCO (state-run planning authority City and Industrial Development Corporation) to build permanent homes for those affected by the landslide,” Samant said.

The Raigad district administration has zeroed in on a plot for the resettlement but there is reportedly some discontent among the villagers.

“We will take a final decision on a site shortly,” said Mhase.