Raigad collector Nidhi Choudhari said around 32 houses were buried under the landslide and around 10 persons survived with minor injuries.
The search and rescue operation at Taliye in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, where a landslide buried an entire village with over 40 houses, was again hampered by heavy rain on Saturday.
At least 36 bodies have been recovered while over 40 villagers were still missing since Thursday.
The death toll from landslides in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Satara went up to 57 till Friday evening while 80 people were still missing.
In Kevanale in Raigad, 11 bodies were recovered from a landslide scene. Seven people were killed in multiple landslides in Satara district and 30 more were missing. In Ratnagiri’s Posare, three persons were killed after a portion of hillock collapsed while 14 persons were still reported missing.
In a statement, the Chief Minister’s Office said landslides were reported at 10 places.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced financial assistance for the landslide-hit people.
In Taliye, rescuers pulled out bodies from the debris manually as heavy rain and difficult terrain prevented earth moving machinery from moving to the spot.
State relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar said the villagers were alerted and moved to safer locations in anticipation of heavy rains. He added the India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert.
“We had relocated villagers of Taliye a few days back to safer location considering the risky terrain. However, the locals moved back to the same place before the landslide.”
Raigad collector Nidhi Choudhari said around 32 houses were buried under the landslide and around 10 persons survived with minor injuries.
“Based on the information from locals and survivors, we can say almost 30-35 people are still feared trapped. We have pressed more rescuers into service.”
While the landslide struck on Thursday evening, rescue operations started only by Friday morning due to visibility issues.
Satara district Collector Shekhar Singh said, “We have recovered six bodies so far while 30 persons are still missing. The search operation is underway on war-footing though heavy rains in many parts are creating hurdles.”
