16 dead, 100 missing as hilltop crashes into Maharashtra village

Sixteen people have died and dozens others are still believed to be trapped after a portion of a hill came crashing down on Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. While 21 people have been rescued, at least 60-100 more people are believed to be trapped in the debris. Rescue work had to be called off on Thursday evening due to bad weather.

The incident happened at around 11pm on Wednesday when a portion of Irshalgad hill came crashing down on the homes at the foothills following heavy rains. The locals, who are tribals, claim that the landslide buried more than 17 homes.

Irshalwadi is a remote hilly area in Khalapur in Raigad with no roads. So, even though the state administration came to know of the incident at around 12.30 am, rescue efforts took time to begin.


Due to the hilly terrain, JCB machines and other heavy equipment could not be sent to the spot. State government officials said that two choppers were on standby to start rescue operations but could not be used due to the inclement weather. With no heavy equipment and heavy rains, rescue efforts have been slow as rescuers have to dig with shovels and other manual equipment to look for survivors. The state government has rushed in the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has also tasked 1,000 labourers to help in the digging and rescue work.

State government officials said a portion of the hill could have collapsed due to the heavy rainfall with the
region receiving 499mm of rains in the last three days.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the spot to oversee the rescue efforts and consoled the relatives of those who had lost their relatives. “The terrain is such that vehicles cannot ply here. Everything (digging through the rubble) has to be done manually… Some of the people were saved because they were not present at the village when the incident happened,” said Shinde.

This is the fourth such incident in the state, where almost an entire village was wiped out after a hill near it collapsed. On July 30, 2014, a landslide in Malin village in Pune claimed 151 lives. On 22 July, 2021 a similar hillside collapse buried 85 people alive in Mahad’s Raigad district. Since the Malin incident, the Maharashtra government has been talking of shifting villages and families located near hill sides. However, progress on
this has been slow. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state would not withhold any
funds to shift those who are under the threat of such landslides.

RED ALERT FOR MAHARASHTRA
Amid incessant rainfall in Maharashtra the India Meteorological Department on Thursday issued a ‘Red’ alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in the districts of Thane, Raigad, Pune, and Palghar for today and tomorrow. An ‘Orange’ alert has also been issued for Mumbai and Ratnagiri.