More than 150 feared dead in India monsoon
Published: 6:35 am, Thursday, 31 July 2014
The death toll from a major landslide in western India is expected to exceed 150, a health official says, after heavy monsoon rains sent mud and rocks tumbling onto homes.
Emergency forces rushed to a remote village in the state of Maharashtra, where a hill collapsed in the morning as residents were reportedly sleeping.
'We have removed 19 bodies,' said H.H. Chavan, the affected Pune district's deputy director of health, adding they expect about 140 more, considering 44 houses were buried.
'The majority of deaths are due to the crush-load of rubble which has buried the village,' Chavan told AFP in Ghodegaon, a neighbouring village that has become a nerve centre for the rescue operation.
The National Disaster Response Force said it had mobilised nine teams with a strength of 378 trained personnel to help with the rescue effort, although ongoing rains have been hampering operations.