Landslide struck 3 vehicles in India: 8 fatalities

8 people were reported dead after a landslide hit 3 vehicles in India.

The incident occurred on Saturday, October 19, 2019. The landslide struck in a road near Chandikadhar area which belongs to Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. 

According to reports, a massive boulder detached from the slope, swept away debris and hit a car and 2 motorcycles in the road. Landsliding occurred in late evening so drivers could not see the approaching disaster.

The 3 vehicles fell into a 500-meter cliff. 3 victims were hospitalized and succumbed to their injuries on Saturday and 5 more bodies were retrieved the next day after rescue operations were launched. Officials used rock cutting equipment to break the hard boulder in order to recover the bodies buried under it.

“Rescue teams found three injured lying at the spot while five others were stuck under the debris and heavy boulders brought down by landslide. They immediately rushed the three to a hospital. The remaining five bodies were recovered on Sunday morning,” Mangesh Gildiyal, Rudraprayag’s district magistrate, stated.

According to recent updates, 3 victims have been identified. “Identities of all the eight deceased would be ascertained in the next few hours,” Gildiyal added.

India is devastated by landslides and has suffered crucial loss of human lives. In June 2019, a landslide that occurred in a mine resulted in 3 casualties. The following month, another landslide swept away an entire village killing at least 10 people and leading to massive evacuations.