NDRF on Thursday halted the rescue operation of landslide that took place in Malin village in Pune district. So far, 8 people rescued and 151 bodies have been recovered. The village is just 10 kilometres from Bhimashankar Jyotirling Temple in Ambegaon Taluka and 70 kilometres from Pune city. Rescue operations have started and many bodies have so far been extracted from under the debris by team of National Disaster Response Force.

A 100 member team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been rushed to the spot even as locals have begun efforts to save those trapped. "We got the information about landslide at 10:45 am from Pune district collectorate and we sent two teams to the spot with all search and rescue equipment. We fear that there might be at least 150 people trapped in the debris. We have requested district administration for heavy machinery for rescue efforts," said Alok Awasthy, commandant (fifth battalion), NDRF. However heavy rains coupled with remoteness of the area is proving to be a hindrance in rescue efforts.

Most victims of today's landslide at Malin village of Ambegaon taluka in Maharashtra state belong to the adivasi Mahadeo Koli tribal community which survives by farming paddy on hill slopes in the once-densely forested Bhimashankar region, which is now depleting.

The remote terrain is in the vicinity of the famous Bhimashankar temple, one of the 12 Swayambhu Shiva temples in the country, perched atop a hilly forest known for rich flora, fauna and honeycombs. (Read more)

Latest updates:

8 people rescued, 151 bodies recovered as NDRF halts rescue operations

Death toll rises to 153 ; Maharashtra government approves compensation of Rs 5 lakh to victim's kin

Maharashtra government on Wednesday approved a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the families of the victims of landslide at Malin village in Pune district, as the death toll in the July 30 disaster has reached 153.

Official sources said here that the state cabinet, at today's weekly meeting, approved the quantum of compensation. Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan told the cabinet that of the 176 houses in the village, 47 were destroyed in the mudslide which was triggered by heavy rains. Read more

Pune landslide toll reaches 151 as rescue ops enter last phase

NDRF on tuesday recovered 21 more bodies from under the debris, which takes the death toll in the July 30 disaster to 151.Working ceaselessly for the seventh day today, braving heavy rains, rescue personnel still expect 15-20 bodies more under the mound, as per the estimate of casualties calculated on the basis of headcount of families living in about 45 houses flattened by the mudslide. According to the district control room officials, the dead listed so far include 59 men, 71 women, and 21 children.Carcasses of 50 animals too have been extricated in almost round-the-clock rescue operation.

With the recovery of six more bodies, the death toll in Malin village landslide disaster has gone up to 136, even as health officials are sanitising the area in view of the unhygienic conditions there due to decomposing bodies. The district control room said the 136 dead included 53 men, 65 women and 18 children.

130 bodies pulled out so far from Pune landslide debris

The death toll in pune landslide has risen to 115

By Sunday evening, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has managed to recover 106 bodies from the mud. Intermittent rains once again turned the site of the mudslide into a swamp, making it difficult for rescuers to locate the bodies.

With the recovery of five more bodies, the toll in the Malin village landslide has climbed to 92 even as more that 100 persons are still feared to be trapped under the debris.The dead included, 34 men, 42 women and 12 children, District Control Room said today. State Home Minister R R Patil had visited the site last evening and assured the affected families that they will be rehabilitate.

With the recovery of five more bodies, the death toll in the landslide catastrophe at Malin has risen to 75 today while 100 more persons are believed to be buried in the debris. The dead include 37 women and 10 children, according to the district control room. Mass cremations are being carried out in the village. Read more.

Hopes of finding more survivors are receding as rescuers dug out 29 more bodies. The toll in the landslide disaster has risen to 70 as of Friday evening. The dead victims whose bodies have been extricated so far include 28 males, 32 females and 10 children, the district control room set up to monitor the situation said.

Rescue operations are to continue for two more days. Read more.

Relatives of those buried in the landslide have been visiting to the village to search for the bodies of their family members. Narmada Zanjare, a widow, lost 20 of her relatives. Her two daughters escaped miraculously. Read more.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday announced a financial aid of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of each of the victims. Officials in the Chief Minister's office said the assistance would be provided from the CM Relief fund. Free medical treatment will be given to the injured and proper rehabilitation of the village will be done on priority.

CM has announced financial aid of Rs 5 lakhs to next of kin of each of the victims in Malin Village tragedy from CM Relief Fund..1/1 — CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) August 1, 2014

1/2... Malin tragedy:- Free medical treatment to injured. Proper rehabilitation of Village will be done on priority. - CM announced — CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) August 1, 2014

According to the District Collector Control Room, till now, 63 people including 25 men, 28 women and 10 children have been killed in the landslide while eight injured persons have been rescued and are being treated at nearby hospitals.

Pune village landslide: Watch the complete story

The death toll in the Malin village landslide disaster has climbed to 51 with recovery of ten more bodies since last night, district control room said today. The deceased included 22 women, 23 men and six children. So far, eight injured persons have been rescued and they were being treated at nearby hospitals, he said.

3-month-old child, mother rescued from Pune landslide debris

The Manchar police station is proud to have 53-year old constable Maruti Sarode in its team. Sarode has not only pulled out a three-month-old child and his mother alive from the debris, but has also pulled out several bodies after the Pune landslide that killed 25 people and buried 160 people.Sarode, who rushed to the spot with an initial team, is working tirelessly at the spot and is chipping in whichever way he can. Read more

Politicians begin blame game

Even before the rescue operation is over, politicians have begun the blame game. Shiv Sena MP from Shirur constituency Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil has alleged that the Centre immediately provided relief funds, but the state government is not at all serious about the incident.

18 people who died in the incident were cremated on Thursday lave evening.

9.00 IST Thursday, 31 July 2014

As NDRF continues to search through the debris, the death toll is increasing rapidly. Currently it is 50 and is likely to increase. The chances of survival of those trapped in the debris also looks ot be extremely dim. However, NDRF has rescued a three month old kid from the rabbles after hearing the crying sound of the baby. His mother has also been rescued. Maharashtra CM has said that to avert such tragedy people living in landslide prone areas may be shifted. Read more

Sharad Pawar visits Malin village.

Nationalist Congress party Chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday visited the landslide site. Pawar said, "There are many other villages located beneath hillocks under threat similar to Malin village mishap. Some people may disagree with the plan but I think this is important to save innocent lives.

Siddhivinayak temple trust declares assistance of Rs 50 lakh for village rehabilation.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the landslide site on Thursday to take stock of the situation. Singh said that only after a detailed probe will the cause of the tragedy be known, while also assuring full central assistance in rescue and relief work.

Families of victims to get Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

More dead bodies were extricated today from the debris

Union Home Minister Rajnath singh on Thursday morning arrived at the landslide site. Also the Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar will visit the Malin landslide site on Thursday.

Rescue operation halted due to heavy rainfall. Decision taken to shift 10 other villages locating beneath hillock region, due to fear of more landslides that may take place.

Union Home Minister Rajnath singh and Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar will visit the site today. Rajnath Singh will be ccompanied by Vinod Tawde, leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council, and other officials.

Sharad Pawar terms incident 'unfortunate'

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has reacted to the landslide saying the incident has alarmed them to rethink about vulnerable landslide prone regions

Expressing the grief over the incident, Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar said, "The landslide incident at Malin village near Bhimashankar is very unfortunate. This has reminded me one such incident that had taken place 15 years back near Lonavala due to nature’s outburst. We have many villages located beneath hillocks. This incident has alarmed us to rethink about these villages which may face worst effects during heavy rains. We should give priority to protect lives of innocents. Read more

Death toll reaches 25 and 17 dead bodies identified as of now. Rescue operation will continue for the next three days.

The people stuck under debris are being rescued with the help of JCB and Pokland machines, but the operation will take at least three days, said the Pune district administration.

The rescue operation at the spot has been hampered due to heavy rainfall, slime mud and increasing traffic.

NDRF Jawans are struggling hard to pull out survivors facing many hurdles.

More JCB's are required to fasten the operation, but due to the long line of vehicles, only 3 JCB's were able to reach the spot making it difficult for other JCB machines to reach the landslide area.

State to form SDRS Considering the incident has an alarm, the state Cabinet has decided to form two companies of State Disaster Response Force on the lines of NDRF.

17 dead in Pune landslide, 400 NDRF men mount rescue effort

Officials said the death toll could go up. 14 injured survivors have also been pulled out of the rubble and admitted to a primary health centre nearby, sources at an emergency control room set up at Khed-Manchar. An earlier report had said 15 persons were extricated from the debris alive. Read more

Rahul Gandhi condoles landslide deaths in Pune

Condoling the deaths in landslides in Pune, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hoped rescue efforts rapidly reach those still trapped under the debris. "My condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the landslide in Ambegaon near Pune. I pray that the ongoing rescue efforts rapidly reach those still trapped under the debris. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ambegaon," Gandhi said in his message. Read more

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan expresses grief over Malin landslide

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan expressed "deep shock and grief" over the landslide incident triggered off by heavy rains at Malin village in Ambegaon taluka of Pune district on Wednesday. "I am deeply shocked and saddened to know about the incident of landslide in Pune district in which several people are feared to be trapped and houses in the entire village have been buried in the landslide in the early hours of Wednesday (30 July)," the Governor said in a statement. Read more

A control room has been set up at Manchar in Ambegaon taluka of Pune district.Contact no- 021 33223044 / 9822012371/ 022 26120620

* More than 100 ambulances are at the spot.

* Sharad Pawar to visit the landslide-hit spot on Thursday morning.

On telephonic requisition from District Disaster Management Officer (DDMO) to 05 Bn, NDRF Pune regarding a massive land slide in Tehsil - Ambegaon, Pune, Maharashtra. 07 teams of National Disaster Response Force which were en-route now have reached the incident spot.

Two more teams of NDRF which were prepositioned at Andheri Sport Complex, Mumbai for pre-monsoon deployment have been mobilised and are on the way.

The total strength of 09 teams is 378 trained personnel who are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and communication sets.

Alok awasthy, Commandant, and Varghese PG, Second-in- command of 05 Bn, NDRF are supervising the search and rescue operation.

Two Un-Armed-Vehicles (UAVs) with its pilot are also directed to rush to spot to help in the on-going rescue work. Six teams of NDRF at Gandhinagar are also kept as stand by for further deployment. As per the latest reports from NDRF Pune Bn 06 victims have been rescued and 17 dead bodies recovered so far. Rescue work is in progress.

In Pictures: Visuals from the landslide-hit site in Pune district

PM Narendra Modi directs Rajnath Singh to rush to landslide hit spot in Pune

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the loss of lives in landslide in Pune and directed that all possible help should be provided to the affected people. He also directed Home Minister Rajnath Singh to rush to Pune to take stock of the situation, a PMO statement said. "The Prime Minister has condoled the loss of lives in the landslide and directed all possible efforts to help the affected people," the statement said. Read more

Home Minister Rajnath Singh to visit land slide affected area in Pune today.

The casualties are being shifted to Ambegaon and Manchar hospital, whereas the critically injured will be moved to the Sasoon Hospital.

* Malin village before and after the landslide:

Death toll in Pune landslide rises to 8, 2 rescuedThe death toll in the landslide at a village in Maharashtra's Pune district has gone up to eight with three more bodies being extricated from the rubble. Additional district collector Ganesh Patil told PTI two persons have also been pulled out alive.

The site of the landslide

The region of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Kalyan and Vasai-Virar have been witnessing heavy rainfall from the last 48 hours. Sources say the population of the village is around 300 and houses adivasis and factory workers as well as some flood-affected people who had been rehabilitated here. About 40 houses of the village have been damaged due to the landslide.

Malin village before the landslide

State's Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Patangrao Kadam said rescue operations were going on in full swing in coordination with various government agencies. Pune Divisional Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh is coordinating the relief work, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Dilip Walse Patil said.

"The Pune district collector and SP have reached the spot. The divisional commissioner is coordinating the relief work," Walse Patil, who represents the affected region in the state Assembly, said. "The NDRF teams have also reached the spot," he said. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and deputy CM Ajit Pawar have rushed to the village.

Landslide in Malin Village in Ambegaon tq Dist Pune. Ambulances, JCB's, 2 NDRF teams rushed to the venue. CM personally monitoring situation — CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) July 30, 2014

CM on way to landslide hit village Malin, with DCM, Min. Pichad & Harshawardhan Patil. — CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) July 30, 2014

According to District Collector Saurav Rao, the administration has mobilised rescue machinery to pull out those trapped. "Exact number of causalities is not known as we are moving slowly to ensure that those trapped are removed safely. About 30 ambulances have been rushed from adjoining areas to extend medical help to the victims," he told PTI, adding earth moving equipment from government and private parties were being pressed into service.

With agency inputs