A total of 16 bodies have been recovered and 21 people were rescued so far at the landslide-hit Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra's Raigad district, according to the NDRF. The search and rescue operation resumed for the second day after the authorities halted the operations, fearing possible landslide during the night amid incessant rainfall.
Due to heavy rainfall and the threat of further landslide in the dark, the rescue operation has been called off with consultation of local administration and will resume tomorrow morning," the NDRF said on Thursday. The landslide occurred at Wednesday night in the village situated on a hill slope in the coastal district around 80 km from Mumbai, flattening 17 out of 50 houses in the area.
Due to unstable terrain in of the village, search and rescue teams were facing hurdles to use heavy machines in carrying out the operation. They had to clear the large portion of mud manually.Due to tough topography, heavy machinery such as earth-movers and excavators could not be moved to the hilltop.