Ratnagiri dam breach: 13 people dead, 11 missing in Maharashtra's Chiplun; NDRF to expand area of search ops

Ratnagiri: Thirteen people have been killed and 11 others were missing on Wednesday after heavy rainfall caused a breach in the Tiware Dam in Ratnagiri district, leading to a flood-like situation in downstream villages, NDRF officials said. Bodies of 12 people have been identified. [caption id=“attachment_6929831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] NDRF soldiers conducting search and rescue operations in Ratnagiri. ANI[/caption] In a statement, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said a joint coordination meeting was conducted with all stakeholders during which it was decided to distribute the search area among various agencies based on their capabilities, resources, and experience. All search teams will have a local guide who will help in the operation. All the bodies recovered will be first brought to Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) at Dadar village and thereafter shifted to the Chiplun government hospital for post-mortem, the statement said. Earlier, NDRF Director General SD Pradhan told ANI that the search operation to trace the missing people needed to be expanded which might take some time. The local population had not anticipated the unprecedented volume of rainfall, which became the principal cause of this breach on Tuesday night, he said. “Two to three villages were deluged by heavy water flow but only one village was the worst affected. At least 12 houses were gushed out towards the coastline and the distance between affected villages and the coastline is almost 50 kilometres. So, we have to thoroughly search the beach area as well,” Pradhan said. Given the unpredictability of the climate, he said dam structures should be looked at carefully. “The maintenance and inspection of such structures are extremely essential,” Pradhan added. The local residents have been helping the NDRF and police in the search.