THE death toll hit 20 from a massive landslide in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, officials said today.

More than 40 people are missing from the landslide that hit the Tupul railway construction camp at midnight on Wednesday in the Noney district.

A senior administrative official in the district, Solomon Fimate, told Anadolu Agency that a rescue operation is ongoing.

“Till now, we rescued 18 people,” he said. “We are proceeding in the rescue operation cautiously as the soil in the area is very loose.”

Ministers of the state government, local legislators and officials are camping at landslide-affected sites in Tupul to oversee the rescue operation, Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh said yesterday.

“The loss of lives, including our armed forces personnel, is deeply saddening. We still have more than 50 missing persons to be found,” he said.

Among the dead are Indian army personnel deployed for the protection of the under-construction railway line that was also hit by the landslide.

The death toll from floods in neighbouring Assam state hit 173.

Officials said late yesterday evening that 14 people were killed in the last 24 hours from the floods. – Bernama, July 2, 2022.