At least 17 dead in India landslide

 
Emergency response: rescue vehicles are stalled at a barricade set up by police some 35 kms before the site of a landslide in Malin village in Pune
Standard Reporter30 July 2014

More than 17 people have been killed in a landslide in rural India.

The landslide in the remote village of Ambegaon was caused by torrential rain.

Emergency teams reached the area, which is in the Pune district in the west of the country, just before nightfall, but continuing rains and bad roads have hampered rescue efforts

Rescuers plan to work overnight using floodlights mounted on two jeeps along with earthmoving vehicles, according to officials.

With 70 homes buried and reports of another 158 hit by the landslide, rescuers anticipate more dead in the village, home to 704 people in the foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains.

The landslide hit early on Wednesday morning, but details of the damage only began to trickle out several hours later. The area received 10.8 centimeters (4.25 inches) of rain on Tuesday, with a heavy downpour continuing through Wednesday.

A lack of Internet connectivity and poor phone service are also hampering the rescue operation.

It is feared that more than 150 people could still be trapped.

Landslides are common in the area during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September.

Pune district is about 95 miles southeast of Mumbai, India's commercial capital. The nearest medical centre is about 9 miles from the village.

The area around the village has been deforested extensively, increasing its vulnerability to landslides.

Similar deforestation and environmental damage have caused floods and landslides in other parts of India as well.

Last year, more than 6,000 people were killed as floods and landslides swept through the hilly northern state of Uttarakhand during the monsoon season.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in