Imphal: The death toll of the tragic landslide at railway construction site in Manipur’s Noney district rose to 54 on Tuesday as the rescue team retrieved two more mortal remains from the Ijei river bank at Makhuam (Marangjing), said an official.
However, seven more persons missing from the landslide hit area still remain untraceable even on the 13th day of rescue operations.
The two recovered bodies were identified as civilians engaged on railway construction work under Venkata Sai Construction, a railway agency deployed at the site.
Of the 79 confirmed victims in the landslide, 54 bodies have been recovered, 18 injured persons were rescued alive and seven are still missing, Noney DC Haulianlal Guite said.
Body identification has become very difficult due to tissue deterioration and three recovered bodies are yet to be identified, he said.
Moreover, finding the missing bodies is also increasingly difficult as our ability to trace them decreases with time, Guite said.
The search and rescue team consisting of NDRF, SDRF, Army, Assam Rifles, Police and local volunteers will continue the search operations at 6 am on Wednesday, it said.
On Monday, disaster and relief management minister Awangbow Nemmai, who has been closely monitoring the landslide situation at ground zero, held a review with officials involved in rescue team and locals decided to continue the rescue work till Wednesday (July 13). However, he maintained that the search and rescue work will continue till all victims were found.
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