MOSCOW, August 3 (RIA Novosti) - Death toll in Wednesday’s devastating landslide in India’s Maharashtra state hits 82, and 17 other villages face the same risk, NDTV television channel reported Sunday citing a source in local administration.
“How many villages like this exist we will have to enquire. We will conduct a survey all over Maharashtra. We will take a decision based on that,” Patangrao Kadam, Maharashtra's Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, was quoted as saying.
Early Wednesday, a landslide hit Malin village near Pune in Maharashtra state, flattening over 40 houses. Dozens of people are feared trapped in landslide debris and only eight have been pulled out alive. The death toll is expected to reach over 150 people.
The landslide was caused by heavy monsoon rains and local authorities say that 17 other villages face the same risk.
Over 300 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are involved into rescue operations, local hospitals are on high alert.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent the country’s Interior Minister Rajnath Singh to control the rescue operations. Shocked by the scale of devastation, Singh announced financial help for the victims from the federal government.
