Landslide kills five in Ri-Bhoi

The incident took place at around 4.30 AM when the people were in deep slumber

OUR BUREAU

SHILLONG, June 17: Torrential rains in Meghalaya wreaked havoc in Tharia village under Umiam police station in Ri-Bhoi district on Saturday morning.

Five persons were killed and nine others were injured in a landslide triggered by the incessant rains.

Ri-Bhoi Superintendent of Police (SP) Ramesh Singh said that the incident took place at around 4.30 AM when the people, most of them are workers of a local plywood factory, were in deep slumber.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) quickly swung into action after receiving information about the disaster and engaged in rescue operations along with the Fire and Emergency Services and local inhabitants.

P H Khongsngi, Deputy Controller of Civil Defence, Shillong and Officer in Charge, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has informed that two of the deceased were labourers of the Plywood Factory at Tharia and were identified as Loba Mahanta (25) and his wife Babbi Mahanta (19) while the third victim, a minor has been identified as 12 years old Santi Lama.

The fourth victim of the tragedy succumbed to his injuries at Civil Hospital, Shillong and was identified as Bu Lama (13). The fifth victim, a woman, whose body was retrieved at 6:30 pm, is yet to be identified. 

A woman identified as Sima Lama aged around 35 who was injured in the landslide was rushed to Civil Hospital, Shillong.                   

Khongsngi who is leading the rescue team of the SDRF said that the focus of the operations now is to locate two missing residents of the affected area identified as Kali Mai (60) and her daughter Ri Lama.

The area affected by the landslide is below a landfill and a stream flows nearby, said Khongsni.

He added that four members of the SDRF have been deployed downstream to locate the bodies in case they were swept downstream.

Khongsngi further added that operations will continue as weather permits.

“If the bodies are not found today the operations will be suspended and resumed at dawn on Sunday as rescue workers cannot risk working at night due to standard safety protocols,” he said.

M K Sangma, Joint Commandant General of Home Guards and Joint Director of Civil Defence, Meghalaya also visited the affected area to take stock of the situation earlier in the day.

Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma has condoled the unfortute loss of precious lives in landslides that occurred on Saturday. He has conveyed his deepest condolences to the members of the bereaved families.

Chief Minister Sangma ordered an immediate enquiry into the safety auditing of the industrial units to ensure that they conform to the parameters of safety requirements and be resilient to withstand any instances of disaster.

There were also reports of landslide in areas under Mawsynram and the stretch from Shillong to Sohra, spping communication for a brief period, Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills District, Peter Dkhar said.

He said that the work is underway to clear the debris that block the movement of vehicles.