Fourteen people were killed and several others are feared trapped in the rubble of an under-construction railway site at Manipur's Noney district which was hit by a massive landslide, officials said.
"As many as 23 people were extracted from the debris of which 14 were dead. Searches are continuing for the others. Not confirmed how many are buried but as of now 60 people including villagers, army and railway personnel, labourers (buried)," said DGP P Doungel.
Search operations continued during the night and engineering equipment including dozers has been pressed into service for creating access to the incident site and to help in the rescue efforts.
The landslide took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday near the company location of 107 Territorial Army of Indian Army deployed near Tupul Railway Station in Noney district for protection of the under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Imphal.
Troops of Indian Army Assam Rifles and Territorial Army continued the rescue operations to save the landslide-hit throughout the day in the general area of Tupul railway station, Noney district, Manipur in spite of inclement weather. Teams of Indian railways, civil administration, NDRF, SDRF and locals of Noney District are also actively contributing in the search, an official statement read.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the landslide situation caused due to incessant rainfall in Manipur with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and assured full possible support from the central government.
"Spoke to Manipur CM Shri @NBirenSinghJi and reviewed the situation due to a tragic landslide. Assured all possible support from the Centre. I pray for the safety of all those affected. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon," PM Modi tweeted.
The North-East Frontier Railway CPRO said the landslide triggered by incessant rains caused damage to the Tupul station building of the ongoing Jiribam - Imphal new line project.
"Landslide also stuck the track formation, camps of construction workers and rescue operations is in progress," the NF Railway CPRO said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
He said that two more teams of NDRF are on their way to Tupul.
Shah said rescue operations are underway with National Disaster Response Force personnel at the site of the incident which took place on Wednesday at midnight when the landslide hit the construction camp.
"Spoke to CM @NBirenSingh and @AshwiniVaishnaw in the wake of a landslide near the Tupul railway station in Manipur. Rescue operations are in full swing. A team of NDRF has already reached the spot and joined the rescue operations. Two more teams are on their way to Tupul," Shah tweeted.
Manipur CM N Biren Singh visited Tupul to take stock of the unfortunate landslide situation and expressed gratitude to Shah for calling him to assess the situation and assured all possible assistance.
"Visited Tupul to take stock of unfortunate landslide situation. I'm thankful to Hon'ble HM Shri Amit Shah Ji for calling me to assess the situation and assured all possible assistance. A team of NDRF has already reached the site for the rescue operation," the Chief Minister tweeted.
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