Manipur landslide: 8 more bodies found, toll now at 16

Among the bodies recovered till now, two are confirmed to be that of the missing personnel of the 107 Territorial Army (TA) stationed at the landslide-hit camp situated near Marangching. With this, the total number of TA casualties reached nine till the time of filing this report.

Rescue operations underway for the second consecutive day after a massive landslide hit the Tupul railway construction camp in Noney district of Manipur, Friday, July 1, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh visited the landslide-hit area for the second day to oversee the rescue operations. The Chief Minister said as many as 81 persons had been affected, out of which 18 persons had been rescued.

He said that the rescue team consisting of Manipur Police, NDRF, SRDF and Army personnel recovered eight more bodies in addition to the eight others found on Thursday. “Since the soil is soft, the road to the actual area of the landslide couldn’t be restored. The state government put all efforts using possible manpower and machines to recover the missing persons,” the Chief Minister said.

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Singh expressed his confidence that all the missing persons will be found within two to three days. He also informed that an equipment has been brought from Ladakh by the Army which could locate the whereabouts of the dead bodies using its through wall radar system.

The PRO, defence wing, Imphal, said search operations by the Army, Assam Rifles, Territorial Army, SDRF and NDRF is underway at the site.

“As many as 10 columns have been pressed into the search operation. Synergised and joint operational task force is coordinating the efforts to remove mud and boulders. A Through Wall Imaging Radar is also being inducted by air to detect the presence of personnel buried under the debris. A search and rescue dog is also being inducted,” said the PRO in a statement.

Aerial view of rescue operations underway for the second consecutive day after a massive landslide hit the Tupul railway construction camp in Noney district of Manipur, Friday, July 1, 2022. (PTI Photo)

The GOC in Chief Eastern Command, Lt Gen R P Kalita also visited the injured TA personnel who were initially evacuated to Liemakong Military Hospital on Thursday and are now being provided medical aid at the Assam Rifles Hospital at Mantripukhri.

While the exact figure of the missing persons could not be confirmed, the initial report suggests around 56, including five villagers, railway officials, TA personnel and laborers. Singh on Thursday had announced Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to the injured.