Bhubaneswar/Phulbani: A search operation was underway Monday to trace 10 people who went missing after a rain-triggered landslide struck a village bordering Ganjam and Kandhamala districts in Odisha three days ago, officials said.
Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Response Force, Special Operations Group, Fire and Emergency Services and the Railways have been engaged in the operation, they said.
“They had recovered two bodies Sunday. The search for the remaining 10 people is on,” one of the officials said.
The landslide at Gidipabali village under Baibali panchayat in Ganjam district’s Bhanjanagar block was among the 10 such incidents that occurred during incessant rain triggered by cyclone Arnab last week.
To accelerate the search operation for missing people, modern equipment and local labourers have been deployed, said an official at the Special Relief Commissioner’s office.
“A total of 123 skilled workers of various disaster response agencies have been involved in the search operation. They are using modern equipment and two sniffer dogs to trace the missing persons,” he said.
NDRF personnel are using one life detector and a radar device, while ODRF men deployed a drilling machine in the operation, he said.
