Pune landslide: Toll rises to 41, rain hampers rescue efforts

The death toll in the landslide at Malin village near here rose to 41 this morning even as rescue workers resumed operations, which were hampered during the night due to rains and poor visibility. According to a CNN IBN report another landslide was reported on Thursday morning near the same area. The death toll in Wednesday’s landslide has now risen to 41 while over 120 people are still feared trapped. As many as 44 houses were crushed in Malin village, situated in Ambegaon taluka, some 120 kms from the district headquarters here in Western Maharashtra, by the massive landslide that occurred yesterday morning trapping about 120 people under the debris after large parts of a hillside collapsed on them. [caption id=“attachment_1644385” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] Intermittent rains and slushy terrain were affecting the rescue work, district officials said. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has left for the mishap site this morning after an overnight halt at Pune, city police control room said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan visited the mishap site last night and reviewed rescue operations, appealing to people not to crowd the village as it could affect the ongoing work. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled the loss of lives in the tragedy and asked Singh to rush to Pune to take stock of the situation. Earth-moving machinery has been pressed into service but the rescuers are moving slowly to avoid causing harm to the possible survivors, Pune Collector Saurav Rao had earlier said, adding the operation to clear the rubble was on. With inputs from PTI