The death toll from a massive landslide accident in the state of Maharashtra in central-western India has risen to 27 today, while 50 people are still missing, the authorities announced.
“We have counted 27 bodies so far and between 50 and 60 people are still missing, but there are many problems with the rescue work at the site,” said the local official in the state, Yogesh Mahasi.
The previous toll was talking about killing at least 16 people.
Mahasi said the small, isolated village is about 5 kilometers from the nearest road.
He added that no heavy equipment can reach this site and “we only have small machines, and the bulk of the work has to be manual.”
He pointed out that the heavy rains that did not stop in the region make the operation more difficult, and made it clear that he was not optimistic about the possibility of finding more survivors on the fourth day of the ongoing rescue operation.
Local media reported that entire families had died.
Since the start of the monsoon in India in early June, floods and landslides have killed dozens in the country.
Experts believe that climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events in the world.
