India: Deadly landslide traps several under debris

Raigad: Torrential rains and a landslide in India's western state of Maharashtra killed at least 10 people with several others trapped under debris, officials said on Thursday.

The incident occurred late on Wednesday night in the Raigad district after over 24 hours of incessant rainfall in many parts of India.

India's weather forecasting agency had assigned an orange alert to the district for the last two days, pointing towards a prediction of extremely bad weather that might cause disruptions to transport and power supply.

More rainfall is expected there in the coming days.

What do we know about the landslides so far?
While heavy rain and darkness initially hampered rescue efforts, the work picked up speed in the morning, said Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"According to preliminary information, a total 48 families are here. Around 75 people have been evacuated and 5 people have died so far. Arrangements have been made for immediate treatment," Fadnavis said in a tweet, adding that the state government will provide "all possible help" to the kins of the deceased.

He also assured that the cost of treatment for the injured would be entirely borne by the state government.

The Raigad police had set up a control room with over 100 people from police and district administration working on the rescue operations, officials told news agency ANI.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said that 17 of the 40 houses in the village has been affected by the landslide.

"The debris at some of the places is 10 to 29 feet deep. It is difficult to bring in heavy machinery to this place. It is a 2.8 kilometer trek to reach the spot and we have to remove the debris manually which is likely to take a lot of time. While we are facing difficulties, we will continue our operations till we retrieve the last person," S B Singh, Commandant of the fifth battalion of the NDRF, told The Indian Express.

Four NDRF teams are currently present at the site, officials said.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the scene early in the morning to oversee rescue and relief operations, local news channel ABP Majha reported.

India's Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter to say he was in touch with Shinde regarding the incident. "Our priority is to evacuate people from there and give immediate treatment to the injured."