Noney landslide: Two more bodies found
Source: Chronicle News Service
Noney, July 23 2022:
Three days after officially calling off the joint
search operation, body parts
of hand, head and hairs were
found at the Makhuam (Marangching) landslide site on
Saturday by personnel of
Railways who are still carrying out excavation works
to retrieve their buried machinery and construction
materials.
According to police and
family members of the deceased, the body parts were of
one Chunthuiliu Gondaimei
(28), w/o late Kabamgai Gondaimei, and her minor son
Jianthaoliu Gondaimei (2)
of Makhuam (Marangching)
Part-4, Noney district.
The body parts of the two
victims were collected by
the police in the presence of
family members and village
volunteers and were taken to
JNIMS morgue.
The retrieved
body parts of the mother and
son will remain in the morgue
until the body of the husband,
still missing, is recovered.
The trio's last rites will be
performed at their village.
Officially, the search operation was called off with
effect from July 20 after a joint
meeting of officials of the
state government, Northeast
Frontier Railway, top security
officials and representatives
of local organisations after 20
days of continuous efforts and
recovery of 56 bodies from
under the debris.
Five missing
persons were presumed dead
after their bodies could not
be retrieved.
At the time when the
search operation was called
off, the death toll due to the
worst ever natural disaster
to hit the state was put at 61.
The search and rescue
teams comprising state
and central security forces,
NDRF and SDRF personnel
as well as local volunteers
and non-governmental organisations were also able to
rescue only 18 people from
the debris.
Mention may be made that
30 of the deceased people
were Territorial Army personnel and the remaining
railway officials, labourers
and locals.
A total of 700 personnel
were deployed in carrying out the search operation after the massive
landslide hit Makhuam
village in Noney district
late night on June 29
after days of incessant
rainfall.
The under construction
Tupul station building,
track formation and
camps of construction
workers got damaged as
a result of the landslide.
The landslide also struck
the company location of
107 Territorial Army of
Indian Army stationed
near Tupul Railway
Station for protection
of under construction
railway line from Jiribam
to Imphal.