Landslide in Raigad; 10 dead, several feared trapped

After heavy rainfall lashed parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai and adjoining areas, over 100 local trains were cancelled on Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert in Raigad, where a landslide occurred late Wednesday night, leaving over several families trapped, according to officials.

Family members of the people trapped under the rubble after a landslide at Irshalwadi village in Raigad district

Family members of the people trapped under the rubble after a landslide at Irshalwadi village in Raigad district(PTI)

The Maharashtra education department instructed its officials in Thane, Palghar, and Raigad to declare a holiday for educational institutions. This decision coincided with the state government’s announcement of a holiday for all schools in four districts, including Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and Palghar, for Thursday due to a heavy rainfall warning in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

On Wednesday, chief minister Eknath Shinde visited the Disaster Management Department at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters to assess the situation after the heavy rain affected the city and its surrounding areas.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Colaba and Santacruz observatories (indicators for the island city and suburbs) recorded 98.4 mm and 52.8 mm of rainfall respectively.

Seated at a village house in Nambrachiwadi, about two hours downhill from Irshalgarh wadi village which was buried under a massive landslide in Maharashtra’s Khalapur in Raigad district late on Wednesday, 45-year-old Durga Pardi and her 23-year-old son Mohan remain inconsolable.

There is no rush of commuters at Thane railway station on Thursday as CM has announced holidays for schools and colleges.

There is nothing left except soil and debris, said a distraught man whose parents were trapped under the rubble of a massive landslide at Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.

The landslide, which has claimed 10 lives, occurred late Wednesday night on a hilltop in Irshalwadi where the man and his four friends used to stay at night at a school located down the hill.

Narrating the horror, the man said at around 10.30 pm on Wednesday, he was sitting in the school room and chatting with his friends when he heard loud sound.

“I ran out of the school to save myself and later found there was a landslide which damaged our houses,” he said.

“My parents are trapped under the debris. Now, nothing is left except the soil and debris at the place of my house,” he said while fighting back tears.

The man also said he has a brother, who studies in a nearby ashram (residential) school, and he is yet to hear from him.

An anganwadi worker, who used to visit houses in the area, told reporters there were 45 houses at the site and 43 of them were affected by the landslide.

There were 229 people, including 25 children up to six years of age, staying in those houses, the woman claimed, adding she was shattered by the incident.

An elderly woman, who came from a nearby village, in a choked voice said five members of her family were trapped under the debris of the landslide.

As the search and rescue operation was underway at the site, relatives of the landslide-affected people rushed the spot to know the whereabouts of their near and dear ones.

Building parts collapsed at Bhayander Railway station, 1 rescued.

At around 11:00 AM, Bhayander Railway station (East), part of the building in front of the ticket window collapsed and 01 man was trapped in it. The fire brigade has succeeded in evacuating the said person.

“The building had no residents living there because it was marked dilapidated. Only the people passing by on road were injured and none of them have serious injuries,” said Dilip Dhole, commissioner Mira Bhaindar Municipal corporation.

Heavy rain causes Thane Upvan lake to overflow.

Due to heavy rains, the Thane Upvan lake has started to overflow.

Rescue workers in India battled difficult terrain and bad weather on Thursday as they searched for survivors of a landslide that killed at least 10 people in a mountain village after incessant rain soaked the slopes, officials said.

A wave of extreme heat, wildfires, torrential rain and flooding has wreaked havoc around the world in recent days, raising new fears about the pace of climate change.

Aditya Thackeray to visit landslide affected area in Raigad

Shiv Sena’s Thackeray faction MLA Aaditya Thackeray along with MLA Sunil Prabhu and MLC Anil Parab going to Irshalwadi in Raigad.

Two IAF choppers ready to fly to Raigad from Mumbai base, visibility a trouble.

Two teams of NDRF, two groups of local trekkers and unskilled workers of CIDCO have been carrying out the rescue operation. Two helicopters of IAF are ready to fly at Mumbai airport, however , not been able to take off owing to bad weather, said dy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Seven people have died in the mishap. 80 residents have been identified. The rescue operation is being done manually. We are facing difficulties in airlifting JCB and other machinery to the spot due to the bad weather, Fadnavis said.

A fire officer who was part of the operation died of cardiac arrest, infromed dy CM Ajit Pawar

Hilly terrain in Raigad causes trouble in rescue ops, dy CM says trying to airlift JCBs

Since it is a hilly area there are no rescue machines like JCB available at the site. We are trying to air lift JCBs, said Ajit Pawar

CM Shinde, other ministers monitoring landslide rescue ops from base camp.

CM Shinde and other few ministers are at the base camp around 2-km from the spot and monitoring the operation. Irshalwadi was not in the list of landslide prone areas prepared by the government, said deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Schools in difficult areas of Pune to remain closed, teachers asked to be present.

Schools in difficult areas of Pune district to remain closed today and tomorrow in view of continuous rainfall. Teachers however have been asked to remain present in school in order issued by Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh

At least five people were killed and many were feared buried when a landslide hit a mountain village in India’s western state of Maharashtra after incessant rain soaked the region, state officials said on Thursday.

The landslide occurred in the middle of the night in the mountain hamlet of Irshalwadi, about 60 km from Mumbai, media said, citing officials.

“A total of 48 families lived there. Around 75 people have been evacuated and five people have died so far,” the state’s deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, said on Twitter.