On Sunday, six more remains were discovered by rescuers among the rubble, bringing the total death toll from Thursday’s catastrophic landslide at Tupul in Noney district to above 40.
According to official reports, of the six remains, four belonged to members of the missing 107 Territorial Army (TA), one was a labourer, and the other has not yet been recognised. As of Sunday evening, there were still 22 people missing, including TA employees, railroad and road construction business officials, villagers, and labourers. On Sunday morning, another landslide that occurred along National Highway 37 (Imphal-Jiribam road), bordering Noney, in the Sibilong area caused multiple vehicles to become stranded on both sides of the impacted areas. According to local sources, the landslide sent down large rocks that obstructed the highway but no injuries reported.
The Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Territorial Army, SDRF, and NDRF are continuing their search activities at the scene of the disaster in Tupul, Manipur, according to a defence statement. This is despite the bad weather caused by heavy rain and further landslides on Sunday night. The search operation is being expedited by the employment of a search and rescue dog and through-wall radar. Five civilians and 13 TA troops have all been saved, and seven TA servicemen’s mortal remains have been flown by an Indian Army chopper and an IAF aircraft to their respective home bases in Kolkata, Bagdogra, and Agartala, the statement stated.
