Landslide in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, one person killed

SHILLONG: One person was killed when his car was buried in the debris following a heavy landslide in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya which left several thousand people stranded for long hours, police said today.

Loose soil and big boulders came tumbling on top of one of the cars plying on the Guwahati-Shillong four lane road at Umling at around 6 PM yesterday killing the person hailing from Nagaland on the spot, the police said.

Seven vehicles, including an oil tanker, were also damaged as the debris pushed them out of the road but their occupants escaped somehow.

The landslide damaged over 100 meters length of the road.

There was no rain during the incident and villagers informed the police that loose soil along with boulders came down suddenly covering the moving vehicles.

The victim whose body was recovered late in the night has been identified as Dhon Bahadur hailing from Nagaland.

District Dy SP (traffic) Rymphang Pde who was at the spot said the road was finally cleared at around 11 AM today following non-stop clearing of the debris by at least eight earthmovers.

The Shillong-Guwahati four lane is under construction involving blasting of the hill resulting in frequent landslides.