Death Toll from Landslide in Northeastern India Rises to 37

The death toll from the landslide in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, has risen to 37, while 25 others are still missing.

India's NDTV channel reported today, Sunday, that among the casualties were 24 members of the regional army, while heavy rain and bad weather conditions hampered the search operations.

On Saturday, heavy rain and falling rocks hampered rescue workers who have so far recovered 26 bodies from a mudslide that devastated a railway construction site in northeastern India, officials said.

The AP reported that the rescue work is expected to continue for two days amid rugged mountainous terrain, with little hope of finding survivors among the 37 people still missing since last Wednesday night.

Pankaj Kavidayal, a rescue official, mentioned that 21 of the 26 confirmed dead were members of the military. Army personnel was providing security for the railway officials due to the decades-old insurgency seeking a separate homeland for ethnic and tribal groups in the area.

More than 250 rescuers and police, using bulldozers and other equipment, took part in the operation in Noney, a town near Imphal, the capital of Manipur state. They were warned of fresh mudslides reported in the region on Saturday.