Manipur landslide toll rises to 47; 14 still missing

With rescue teams recovering five more bodies on Monday, the death toll from the devastating landslide in Manipur’s Noney district has risen to 47.
An official statement from Noney said that three of the five bodies recovered were identified as staff of the VSC (Venkata Sai Construction), one TA personnel and one railway worker.
The official report said that of 79 confirmed victims, 47 bodies were recovered, 18 rescued alive with injuries and 14 were still missing.
Body identification has become increasingly difficult due to tissue deterioration and finding of the missing bodies was also increasingly difficult as the rescue teams’ ability to trace them decreased with depth, the report of the Noney DC stated.
The search and rescue operation will continue until all the missing bodies were found, said state water resource and relief & disaster management minister Awangbow Newmai today.
The minister is supervising the search operation at the ground zero of the landslide affected areas.
Awangbow also reached out to the victim’s family at Makhuam (Marangching) and assured all possible assistance from the state government.
He also sought cooperation and support from all sections to successfully execute the rescue operation.