At least five people were killed after a landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, an official said on Thursday. NDRF teams have rushed to the site. At least 22 people are still feared trapped. The official said that the landslide occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday at Irshalwadi village in Khalapur tehsil.
The official said over 20 people injured in the landslide have been admitted to a hospital in Navi Mumbai. CM Eknath Shinde visited the site earlier today.
A fireman from Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), Shivaji Dhume, was pulled out of the debris alive. However, he succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. The district administration in Raigad district has asked trekkers groups for assistance with search and rescue operations after a landslide.
According to an official, the landslide at Irshalwadi hamlet in Khalapur tehsil at about 11 pm on Wednesday is about 80 kilometres from Mumbai. Between Matheran and Panvel, close to the Irshalgad castle, is where the settlement is situated. The stronghold is Prabalgad’s sister fort. The tribal community of Irshalwadi is not reachable by pucca road.
This is the biggest landslide in Maharashtra after July 30, 2014, at Malin village in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district. That massive landslide had swallowed up almost the entire tribal village of around 50 families. The final death toll was 153 when the rescue operation was stopped. Nothing of the old town remains except for its school building.
“I spoke to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde regarding the rain-triggered landslide in Raigad. 4 NDRF teams have reached the spot and are carrying out rescue operations with the local administration. Our priority is to rescue people from there and immediately treat the injured,” Union Minister Amit Shah Tweeted.
