Search Continues for 12 Missing in Landslide-Hit Odisha Village

The Odisha government launched a search operation for 12 people who went missing after a rain-triggered landslide struck a village bordering Ganjam and Kandhamal districts a day ago, officials said on Saturday.

Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said altogether, 170 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and Special Operation Group have been engaged in the operation to locate the missing people.

"A



hilltop village was home to 26 people. Thirteen of them managed to escape from the landslide, while 13 others went missing. One of the missing people has been traced, and others are still untraceable. The search operation has been going on since Friday night," Patil told reporters here on Saturday. 

The landslide at Gidipabali village under the Baibali panchayat in Ganjam's Bhanjanagar block was among the 10 such incidents that occurred during incessant rain triggered by cyclone Arnab.