Nearly 150 feared trapped in landslide in Pune

An Indian official says that more than 150 people are feared buried under a landslide that hit a village in western India following torrential rains. Prabhakar Deshmukh, the local commissioner of Pune district in Maharashtra, says Wednesday’s landslide in the village of Ambe has buried about 40 houses.

Mr. Deshmukh told CNN-IBN TV station that federal rescue workers are on their way to the area but have been hindered by poor roads leading to the village and continuing rain.

PTI adds:

Casualties were feared as several people were suspected to have been trapped inside houses on a hillside following a landslide in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday, police said. People living in about 35 houses have come under the debris of a hillock that caved in at village Malin in Ambegaon taluka of the district when they were asleep, Pune (rural) police said.

Rescue operations are on and a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been rushed from the neighbouring Talegaon camp to the village, about 120 km from here. According to District Collector Saurav Rao, the administration has mobilised rescue machinery to pull out those trapped. “Exact number of causalities is not known as we are moving slowly to ensure that those trapped are removed safely.

About 30 ambulances have been rushed from adjoining areas to extend medical help to the victims,” he said, adding earth moving equipment from government and private parties were being pressed into service. Communication difficulties and rains were affecting the operations, he said