The death toll in a landslide in a remote mountain village in Maharashtra's western state has risen to 26.
As rescue teams continue to search for survivors amid fears that dozens of people may still be trapped beneath layers of mud and silt two days later, an official of India's disaster relief department told The Times of India on Saturday.
The landslide, which occurred Thursday evening, leveled many houses in the village, which is home to 225 people, of whom more than 80 are believed to have survived, the official said. S.B. Singh, a representative of the National Disaster Management Office (NDAO), said rescue efforts are being hindered by heavy rains, low visibility and the rugged terrain.
"We are working on our technical equipment, our rescue techniques," Singh said, adding that four bodies had been pulled out of under the mud on Saturday.
He said that around 16 to 17 houses were destroyed and many families had to be relocated.
Heavy rains in Maharashtra state, India’s richest state, have caused schools to close, roads to flood and train services to be suspended.
On Thursday, schools and universities in Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, remained closed as heavy rains continued to wreak havoc on the city. On Wednesday, some train services were suspended in Mumbai following heavy rains.
Since June 1, the start of India’s rainy season, more than 100 people have lost their lives in floods, landslides and other incidents.
