Mother, two children buried alive in Arunachal Pradesh landslide

ITANAGAR: A woman along with her two children were buried alive in a massive landslide triggered by incessant rain in Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh . The incident occurred at around 5.30 pm on Monday when a nearby hillock caved in at the remote Arzoo sub-divisional headquarter, 98 kilometers from Anini, the district headquarters, Dibang Valley SP S Singpho said.

Anini MLA Mopi Mihu informed that the woman, who was his cousin, used to stay in her residence along with her son and daughter while her husband, who is a public relations officer at a construction company, stays in a different place in the district. The deceased have been identified Lini Umbrey, her son Eru Meme (7) and three-year-old daughter, the MLA said.

"Immediately after getting news of the landslide, officials of the district administration and police swung into action to rescue the persons with the help of excavators. However, their bodies were retrieved at 11 am on Tuesday," Mihu said.

The SP informed that the area is remote with no telephone connectivity and the road from Anini was blocked in several places due to landslides, making it impossible to send reinforcement from the district headquarters.

Meanwhile, chief minister Pema Khandu has expressed grief over the loss of three lives in the landslide. Conveying his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members, Khandu said that the state and its people are with the victims. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased persons.

Assuring all possible support from the state government, Khandu directed the district administration and the disaster management department to continuously monitor the situation. He appealed to the people living in the lowland and landslide prone areas to shift to safer places.