The death toll in the landslide that struck a railway construction camp at Tupul in Manipur's Noney district rose to 46 on Monday as four more bodies were retrieved from under the debris on the fifth day of the search and rescue operations, officials said.
The bodies were yet to be identified, even as 20 people, including three army personnel and 17 civilians, were accounted missing till Sunday, they said. The bodies are becoming increasingly difficult to identify as they are decomposing rapidly, they said.
Personnel of the 107 Territorial Army and civilians involved in the construction of the 110-km Jiribam-Imphal railway line lost their lives in the worst natural disaster to have struck the northeastern state in recent times.
A massive landslide hit the railway construction site on Wednesday night. The debris blocked the Ijei river below, creating a reservoir that threatens to inundate the low-lying areas. At present, work is underway to clear the debris to let the water flow out.
(With PTI inputs)
