Three more bodies found, toll in Manipur landslide rises to 53

Imphal, July 11 (PTI): Three more bodies were found on Monday at the railway construction site in Manipur’s Noney district that was ravaged by a landslide on June 30, officials said.

With the recovery of these bodies, the toll in the landslide at the Tupul construction camp rose to 53, they said.

Eight people are still missing, and a search is on for them, they added.

“The rescue operation will continue till all the victims are found,” Disaster Management Minister Awangbow Newmai said.

In wake of the hardships being faced by the rescue personnel, a review meeting will be held to discuss about providing additional forces for the operation, he said.

Noney’s Deputy Commissioner Haulianlal Guite said the identification of bodies was becoming increasingly difficult due to “tissue deterioration”.

Finding the missing bodies too has become difficult as the ability to trace decreases with depth, he said.

The search operations start from 4 am every day and continue till 6 pm if the weather is favourable, officials said.

A massive landslide hit the railway construction site on the night of June 30. Construction was underway in the area for the 110-km Jiribam to Imphal line under a project to connect the capitals of the eight Northeastern states to the country’s railway network.

Bodies of 29 Territorial Army personnel have been recovered so far. The other deceased persons were civilians, including railway employees, construction workers and villagers.

The Territorial Army was deployed in the area to provide security for the railway construction work.