Manipur landslide kills 8, including 7 soldiers; 50 missing

Manipur landslide kills 8, including 7 soldiers; 50 missing

A landslide in Manipur's Noney district early Thursday morning has wiped out the Territorial Army (TA) camp and the railway yard site under construction, leaving at least 50 people dead, including 23 soldiers, and fears eight may have been killed.

After several hours of excavation, seven soldiers and a civilian from the 107 TA Infantry Battalion were rescued from the piles of rock and rubble, and rescue crews said it could take several days to clear the rubble.

By Thursday evening, more than 400 rescue teams comprising the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and Territorial Army, NTRF, STRF, Manipur Police, and firemen were pressed into service. They rescued 13 soldiers and 5 civilians from the Morigaon district of Assam.

Among the missing are 23 TA personnel and 27 civilians, including 17 laborers.

The Territorial Army (TA) unit was deployed near Tubul railway station, 50 km west of Imphal, for the protection of the under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Imphal.

"A few survivors said they were swept away by the landslide into the Ijei River below and that is why they escaped death by burying," Rongmei Naga student leader Manipur (RNSOM) leader Daichuipao told TOI by phone.

He added that it had been raining in the area for several days but not during the landslide in the area between Wednesday and Thursday night.

According to Dimgonglung Rongmei, executive director of the Rongmei Naga Baptist Association, landslides of this magnitude are unheard of.

“It is unfortunate that so many people are living together in the landslide area (camp area). Before the railway line was built, there was a slight slippage and the mountain moved a little, but I know it remained the same for a few years, ”Rongmei said.