Five killed, 10 missing in landslide in remote India

NEW DELHI: At least five people were killed and 10 missing on Tuesday after a massive landslide buried homes in a remote village in northeast India, a disaster management official said.

An avalanche of mud and rock struck the village after weeks of heavy rain in Papum Pare district in the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh along the border with China. Jokey Angu, head of the state’s disaster management authority, told AFP rescue teams were trying to find survivors beneath the rubble of eight homes buried under mounds of earth and rock.

“Five bodies have been recovered from the debris. Another 10 people are missing and we fear about their safety,” Angu said.

Landslides are common in the Himalayas, particularly during the monsoon season. Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring Assam are enduring their worst floods and landslides in years amid more than a week of incessant rain. Nearly half a million people in Assam have been affected by the floods, and at least 26 people have drowned since torrential rains hit the state.