The death toll from a massive landslide in India reached 37 on Sunday, authorities said, as rescue teams battled torrential rain to search for 25 others who were still missing three days later.
A wall of mud and rocks inundated a camp housing railway construction workers and members of the Territorial Army in the remote northeast state of Manipur after heavy rains early Thursday.
Emergency teams rescued 18 survivors within the first hours of the incident.
But army spokesman Anom Bobin Singh said Sunday that 28 people were still missing, before later announcing that three more bodies had been recovered.
The fourth day of search operations is underway “despite adverse weather conditions” due to “heavy rains and new landslides,” Singh said.
The remote Northeast generally has poor road and rail infrastructure, but India has pushed ahead with ambitious infrastructure projects in recent years to keep up with a Chinese expansion across the border.
The scenic region – with mountains and dense forests – has been hit by torrential rains in recent weeks, triggering landslides and flooding.
Dozens have been killed in the area after floods last month, with unrelenting rains causing landslides and inundating homes.
Experts say climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events around the world, with dams, deforestation and development projects in India adding to the human toll.
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