- Monday, May 05, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE death toll in the landslide that hit an under-construction railway site in north-eastern Indian state of Manipur rose to 14 on Friday (1) while many were still feared trapped in the rubble, officials said.
The tragedy took place in the intervening night of Wednesday (29) and Thursday (30) in Noney district of Manipur.
“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 top police officer P Doungel.
Search operations continued on Thursday night and engineering equipment were pressed into service on war-footing for creating access to the site and fasten the rescue efforts.
The landslide happened near the company location of 107 Territorial Army of the Indian armed forces deployed near Tupul railway station in Noney district for guarding the under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Imphal, the state capital.
Manipur is a border state with Myanmar, the eastern neighbour of India which has a history of political turbulence.
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, other rescue outfits and local people of Noney District are also actively contributing in the search, an official statement read, Asian News International reported.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the landslide situation caused due to incessant rainfall in Manipur with the state’s 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.
Indian home minister Amit Shah also spoke to Singh and the country’s railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
He said that two more teams of NDRF ((National Disaster Response Force) ) are on their way to Tupul.
“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.
Singh visited Tupul to take stock of the 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,” he tweeted.
