As many as 12 people have died in a landslide that occurred at Khalapur's Irshalwadi in Raigad district overnight as the search and rescue operations are still on. Heavy rain continued to lash the region as the India Meterological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Raigad. Around 25 to 28 families continue to remain trapped under the debris.

"12 bodies have been retrieved from the debris in Irshalwadi, Raigad; also one rescuer died of cardiac arrest. Total 13 deaths till now," police said.

One of the rescuers also died due to a heart attack. Around 75 people have been rescued from, so far, Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said. He added the Raigad incident is a very serious one.

The village has 48 houses and mud, soil and stones have fallen on them. Around 225 people live in the village and around 80 to 85 people have been identified, so far, Fadnavis said, adding that it is possible there could be people from outside as welll.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also arrived at the site on Thursday morning. On Twitter he said heavy rain and the difficult road conditions are hampering the rescue operations. However, helicopters would be called in once the weather improves.

“Twelve bodies have been retrieved so far. 93 people are safe. We are still trying to corroborate the actual figures as some from the halmet were out working somewhere else. It is an extremely unfortunate incident. The government is firmly behind them in their hour of grief. We have already announced compensation of Rs. 5 lakh for the deceased. Continuing heavy rains are still hampering rescue operations,” he said.

Manual rescue operations are on as heavy machines cannot reach the spot, Fadnavis said.

Union home minister Amit Shah later tweeted that he had spoken with Shinde regarding the landslide. He said four NDRF teams are working with the local administration to conduct the rescue operations. "Our priority is to rescue people from there and provide immediate medical help to the injured," Shah said.

"State minister Girish Mahajan had reached the spot at night to check the situation. The CM himself is monitoring the rescue operation to check if a small JCB or earth mover can be airlifted and discussions are being held on the same," Fadnavis said.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Visuals from Irshalwadi village of Khalapur tehsil of Raigad district where rescue operation is underway after a landslide occurred here.

According to the Raigad police, five people have died pic.twitter.com/2UjheTROsi— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2023Two NDRF teams were conducting the search rescue operations in the morning, and two other teams from Mumbai joined in as well. Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is coodinating the relief and rescue operations from the emergency control room in Mumbai. The Raigad police has set up a control room following the incident, the NDRF said.

"We stand with the deceased and people affected and more effort’s will be made to rescue more people," Fadnavis said.

The deputy CM added that the state maps the vulnerable spots and acts on them. However, the spots have been changing. The monsoon patterns have changed because of climate change, he said. "The rain that would pour in a month is now falling in two to four days. So the challenges have increased. But we are learning from this incident and will implement it in our future strategy. In other places as well, vulnerable spots will be identified and how efforts will be made on acting upon them," he added.

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First Published:Jul 20, 2023 10:00 AM IST