Raigad landslide | Search operation resumes on third day; 86 persons yet to be traced

The search and rescue operation at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra’s Raigad district resumed for the third day on July 22 as 86 villagers are yet to be traced, officials said. The death toll till July 20 evening was 16, which went up to 22 on July 22 as six more bodies were recovered.

The search and rescue operation at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra's Raigad district, where a massive landslide claimed the lives of at least 22 people, resumed for the third day on Saturday as 86 villagers are yet to be traced, officials said.

The landslide at the tribal village, situated on a hill slope under Khalapur tehsil that is located around 80 km from Mumbai, occurred on Wednesday night.

The death toll till Thursday evening was 16, which went up to 22 on Friday as six more bodies were recovered. The deceased included nine men, as many women and four children. Nine members of a family perished in the disaster, officials have said.

"The search and rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other government agencies resumed for the third day on Saturday morning," a police official said.

The search operation was suspended around 6 pm on Friday due to heavy rains, an NDRF official said.

"Four NDRF teams and other agencies resumed the operation this morning," he said.

At least 17 of 48 houses in the village, located on a hill slope, were fully or partially buried under the landslide debris.