Death toll in state flood goes up to 25
SHILLONG: Eight persons including a pregnant woman and her mother-in law were killed and many others injured when a massive landslide buried them alive at Barapathar, in city in the early hours of Tuesday.
With this death toll in the flood-related incidents has gone up to 25.
The mud slipped through a hillock rolled over a wooden house and eight people from two families, who were staying as tenants, lost their lives in the incident.
The victims from one family have been identified as Puja Kuri (22), the pregnant woman, her husband Rajesh Kuri (32) and his mother Sobita Kuri (65).
Those who were killed from another family staying in the same house include Kamlesh Kumar Sharma (19), his father Mahindar Sharma (40), Mahindar’s brother Nagnazar Sharma (45), and their relatives Santosh Sharma (24), and Lal Babu Sharma (35).
The house belongs to one Dinesh Boro and his wife Monu Boro is among the injured persons shifted to Civil Hospital for treatment. However, Dinesh Boro, his son, daughter-in-law and three children escaped unhurt.
Others who were in inured include one Rajnish, Ram Prabesh, Mukesh, Nitesh, Nageshwar, Toonu, Birender, Bhola and Sanjit. The incident took place at around 3.10 am during the heavy rainfall, a police official at the site said. Torrential rains since Friday triggered the landslide and the debris rolled over a house tucked just below steep slopes which led to the incident. East Khasi Hills SP M Kharkrang confirmed the death of eight people. Personnel of CRPF, district police, Fire and Emergency Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also pressed into rescue operations apart from local residents who helped in the recovery of bodies. It took eight hours to recover the bodies as several layers of mud covered the bodies due to the land slide. The operations to recover the bodies which began at 6 am ended at 2.10 pm. The impact of the landslide, which also uprooted many banana plants, resulted in major portions of the house caving in along with broken walls.
However, since there was respite to the rain during the period of recovery, it helped the rescuers to complete the task in time.
Meanwhile, there was a landslide in a crèche in Lumparing and luckily there were no casualty or injuries in the incident.