Raigad landslide death toll touches 16, rescue operation on

The death toll in the Raigad landslide touched 16 and the NDRF teams reached the accident spot to resume the search and rescue operation on Friday.The NDRF team had on Thursday suspended the rescue operation owing to heavy rainfall and the threat of more landslide in the dark.NDRF official said that they will also conduct canine searches at the spot."We conduct three types of searches...We will conduct canine and physical searches here. It is a long and challenging trek, but we are trained for it...Yesterday, when we received the information our four teams reached the spot and started with the search & rescue operation...," said Rahul Kumar Raghuwansh, Inspector, 5BN, NDRF.The landslide occurred around 11 pm on Wednesday at Irshalwadi village in Khalapur tehsil, around 80 km from Mumbai, an official said.Of the total 228 residents of the village, the bodies of 16 have been recovered, while 93 residents have been traced, he said.However, a total of 119 villagers are yet to be traced. They include those who had gone out of the village to attend a marriage or for rice plantation work, he said.Of the nearly 50 houses in the village, 17 were flattened by the landslide, officials said.With inputs from agencies