Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde arrived at the site of the landslide in Irshalwadi village of Khalapur tehsil of Raigad district. According to the Raigad police, four people have died and three others have been injured. Rescue operation is underway. Four people were killed and several others are feared trapped under the debris after a landslide hit Irsalwadi, a tribal hamlet in Maharashtra’s Raigad district late on Wednesday night. The region has been lashed by incessant rains over the last 24 hours.
Search operations are underway and 25 people have been rescued so far, as per Industries Minister Uday Samant. The incident took place near Khalapur, where several houses of a tribal hamlet are located. So far 75 people have been evacuated out of which five have died.The landslide caused a large amount of soil and rocks to fall from a hill, burying about 30 houses. Irsalwadi, where the incident took place, is a remote village located on top of a hill. The terrain is difficult and there is no clear path to the village. The only way to the village is a 1 km trek.
Many districts of Maharashtra have experienced heavy rain in the last two days. Two of the six major rivers in Raigad district, Savitri and Patalganaga, were flowing above the danger mark, while Kundalika and Amba rivers had reached the 'alert' mark, and Gadhi and Ulhas were flowing close to the 'alert' mark, according to district administrations. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai, Raigad and Palghar districts. The NDRF has deployed 12 teams across Maharashtra to help with flood relief efforts. Five teams have been deployed in Mumbai, and one team each in Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nagpur, and Thane. Due to the incessant downpour, all government and private schools in Mumbai will remain closed today due to heavy rain.