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.

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