Death toll in Mizoram landslides rises to 29, seven still missing

The death toll in multiple landslides in Mizoram's Aizawl district mounted to 29 after four more bodies were recovered from various places, a police officer said on Wednesday. 

Seven people are still missing and rescuers presume that they are trapped under the debris at different locations following landslides and incessant rain in the aftermath of cyclone Remal on Tuesday, he said. 

A total of 25 bodies, including 15 from a stone quarry collapse site, were recovered by May 28 night. After four more bodies were found since late Tuesday night, the toll in a stone quarry collapse site at Methum has risen to 15 and that at Hlimen to five, Aizawl Superintendent of Police Rahool Alwal said.

Three bodies were found at Aizawl's Salem Veng locality, two each at Falkawn and Aibawk villages and one each at Lungsei and Kelsih villages on Tuesday, he said. 

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Of the 29 victims, 23 are Mizoram residents, five people are from Jharkhand and one is from Assam's Silchar town, according to Alwal. 

Among the deceased are a four-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl. Aizawl Deputy Commissioner Nazuk Kumar said that search and rescue operations are still on and will continue till all missing persons are found. 

She said that teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and fire departments have been deployed in search and rescue operations.