Three killed in Maharashtra highway landslide

Amravati: Three labourers from Orissa and Chhattisgarh were killed in a landslide on the Amravati-Mumbai national highway near Badnera in this district Wednesday evening, highway police said.The labourers were working on an project to four-lane the Badnera bypass stretch when the tragedy occurred, said highway police officer Shridhar G. Raut.[caption id="attachment_351440" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Image used for representational purpose only."][/caption]"Around 5.45 pm, when they were working on a bridge on the bypass, a massive landslide took place from the surrounding hills, trapping them," Raut told IANS.While three people were buried on the spot, one was retrieved from the debris and rushed to a hospital in Badnera, he said.The victims have been identified as Charal Uday Phirku, 50, Raghav Baris Mandai, 35, both from Orissa, and Lala Thirtu Kurmi, 33, from Chhattisgarh. They were employed by a private contractor.Amravati is around 160 km from Nagpur and around 450 km from Mumbai.Raut said Amravati and surrounding areas of Vidarbha region in eastern Maharashtra had been experiencing torrential rains in the past three days, which could have led to the landslide.IANS