Death Toll Rises to 16 From Landslide in India

The death toll from a landslide in Raigad district in southwestern India's Maharashtra state has risen to 16, India's National Disaster Response Force said Thursday. 

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A senior official of the National Disaster Response Force said 16 lifeless bodies have been recovered. The official said rescue work had to be suspended due to heavy rains and the risk of further landslides in Irshalwadi, a hill town in Raigad.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisha said that 80 people had been rescued. According to the minister, a team of 60 trained rescuers and trekkers has been deployed to help save the trapped people.  

Meanwhile, the death toll is feared to be higher. According to local media, it was preliminarily feared that members of more than 30 families had been left underground. 

In the village where the incident occurred, there were about 50 houses. At least 225 people were estimated to be living in the village, about 60 km from the state capital, Mumbai.

The meteorological department indicated that some areas in Raigad district received up to 400 mm of rain in the last 24 hours. In India, since the start of the monsoon season on June 1, flash floods, landslides, and accidents caused by heavy rains have killed more than 100 people.

According to the India Meteorological Department, 41% more rain than normal has fallen in the north. This week, the Yamuna River reached the walls of the Taj Mahal for the first time in 45 years, submerging several historic monuments and the gardens surrounding the 17th-century white marble mausoleum.

Experts link climate change to the increase in the number of extreme weather events around the world.