Pune, August 5 – The death toll in Maharashtra’s worst-ever landslide last Wednesday in Pune district’s Malin village climbed to 134 Monday with the majority of the victims being women, a official said.
“By this evening, we have recovered 134 bodies, including 64 women, 50 men and 20 children. The rescue operations are still continuing,” Pune’s Additional Collector Ganesh Patil said. So far, around 23 people have been rescued from the much and debris, though no survivors have been found after Friday.
The village with around 200 people was almost entirely buried under a landslide early Wednesday following torrential rain – the probability of which was forecast by the US’ NASA a day before the tragedy.
Inclement weather conditions, wet, sticky soil and the stench from the decaying bodies of humans and animal carcasses continue to hamper rescue operations for the 100-odd villagers still trapped.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials have ruled out the chances of finding any more survivors as their gadgets did not indicate otherwise.
The rescuers have made arrangements to cremate the bodies as soon as possible after completing the relevant formalities in view of the stench. They are also spraying chemicals in the area to prevent the outbreak of any disease even as round-the-clock operations continued for the sixth day Monday.
-INDIA TODAY
