GUWAHATI: The death toll in the Manipur landslide tragedy went up to 42 on Sunday with the recovery of three more bodies, including those of Territorial Army personnel.
According to official sources, 27 of the 42 people, whose bodies have been recovered so far, were Territorial Army personnel.
An estimated 81 people were at the railway construction site at Tupul in the Noney district when the tragedy had struck the victims in the wee hours of Thursday.
Earlier, 18 people, including 13 personnel, were rescued. Multiple agencies, including the Army and the Assam Rifles, continued the search operations for the remaining 21 missing persons despite adverse weather conditions owing to heavy rains and fresh landslides on Saturday night.
“The Through Wall Imaging Radar (TWIR) and search and rescue dogs were being used to expedite the operations,” the Army said.
The TWIR is a sensor used for the detection and location of static and moving targets, especially human beings behind walls.
The Army said the mortal remains of seven personnel were sent to their home states in two IAF aircraft and an Indian Army helicopter.
Twenty-five people, including a Territorial Army jawan, from Assam, were at the site on that fateful night.
Assam minister Pijush Hazarika, who is camping in Manipur, said that the bodies of eight persons, including seven construction workers, from the state were recovered.
He said that the bodies would be airlifted to Assam while necessary transportation would be arranged for the injured.
“A railway engineer and 11 others from Assam are still missing,” Hazarika said on Saturday.
The Territorial Army personnel were deployed to the site for the protection of the under-construction railway line from Jiribam to Manipur capital Imphal.