Manipur: Rescue teams in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur are searching for 20 missing after a massive landslide.
Over 40 people died in a landslide at a railway construction site late Wednesday night. The victims were primarily labourers and members of the Indian Army’s volunteer force.
Officials said heavy rains and fresh landslides hampered the rescue work. Monsoon rains have caused severe flooding in the north-eastern states of India, especially Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Its impact has been particularly severe in Assam, where more than 150 people have died in floods and landslides. Lakhs have been displaced.
Rescuers were instead using radar technology to search for people buried under the rubble.
The site of the landslide was part of a railway line being built to connect Manipur’s Jiribam district with the state capital Imphal. A Volunteer Reserve Force of the Indian Army, a company of 107 Territorial Army, was deployed to protect the construction site when the landslide occurred.
Manipur’s chief minister N Biren Singh has called the tragedy “one of the most unfortunate incidents in the history” of the state.