Twenty people were killed in a landslide and a bus accident in two different locations of southern Mizoram’s Lunglei district on Monday night.
District officials on Tuesday said 10 people were killed and four others injured when a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall swept a semi-concrete building away in Lunglawn area of district headquarters Lunglei, about 170 km south of State capital Aizawl.
The incident happened around 6 pm on Monday.
Among the dead were four minors, police said, acknowledging the help from the district’s disaster response team and members of local NGOs in rescuing the injured and extricating the bodies from under the debris.
Disaster struck again in Lunglei district a few hours later when the driver of a bus lost control while negotiating a hilly bend near Pangzawl village, about 135 km south of Aizawl. The bus, belonging to a private transport firm, was carrying 32 passengers from Siaha in souther Mizoram to the State capital.
“Nine people, including two minors, were killed on the spot. Another died at the district hospital here (Serchhip town) about 40 km from the accident spot,” a police officer in adjoining Serchhip district said. The police said the death toll could increase because of the critical condition of at least three of the injured persons.
“The State government will do everything possible for the recovery of the injured,” Mizoram Home Minister R. Lalzirliana said, assuring compensation for the victims. He also advised caution during the rainy months.
On Sunday night, flash flood due to heavy rainfall had washed away a temporary bridge over river Tuirini in the northern part of Aizawl district, cutting off 37 villages.
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