Bhubaneswar/Phulbani, One body was recovered on Sunday, while a search operation was underway to trace 11 missing people in a southern Odisha village hit by a landslide due to Cyclone Arnab-induced rainfall, taking the state’s death toll to five, officials said.
Official sources said that 177 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force , Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force , Fire Service, Special Operation Group, railways, and the Indian Navy have been sifting through mud and stones in search of the missing people in the Gidipabali village.
“We are using the seismic life detection unit of the Odisha fire department and the railways’ chain pulley system to safely evacuate people from the landslide-affected area,” the official said.
“I urge the government to ensure all necessary steps are taken for the swift and safe rescue of the people.
Officials said that the death toll in incidents related to Cyclone Arnab has reached five, with the recovery of the body in the landslide-hit Gidipabali village. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the state government was taking all possible measures to save missing people, while leader of the opposition Naveen Patnaik said he was “concerned and saddened” to learn about the landslide in Bhanjanagar. At this untimely moment of grief, I convey my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the safe rescue of everyone,” Patnail said on X.
Earlier, three members of a family died in a landslide in Kandhamal and another man was swept away by water torrents in Gajapati district.
