Brahmapur: Rescue teams on Thursday recovered five more bodies from beneath the debris at landslide-hit Gidipabali village in Odisha’s Ganjam district. All five were members of one family, officials said. Five more people, who went missing following the devastating landslide triggered by heavy rainfall due to Cyclone Arnab, are yet to be traced.
Rescue teams on Thursday recovered three more bodies from the landslide-hit Gidipabali village in Odisha’s Ganjam district, including those of a woman and her child, a day after the search operation was suspended indefinitely, leaving the families to prepare for symbolic last rites of their loved ones.
While the recovery of the mother and child has deepened the grief of families still waiting anxiously for news of their relatives, around 100 personnel continue to be deployed at the disaster site as teams press on with efforts to locate the remaining missing persons.
Bodies of two persons – identified as Sanman Pradhan (29) and Rabi Mallick (52) – were recovered earlier this week. Recovery of three more bodies have taken the death toll from Cyclone Arnab in Odisha to nine.
The massive landslide struck Gidipabali village under Baibali Panchayat in Bhanjanagar block, near the Ganjam-Kandhamal border, around 3 am on October 28. Continuous rainfall sent a huge mass of mud, rocks, uprooted trees and water rushing down the hillside, burying houses while residents slept. The small hamlet, home to about nine families and a population of around 26, was largely wiped out. At least 11 to 13 were initially unaccounted for, though some residents managed to escape. Survivors later reached officials in neighbouring Kandhamal district.
Survivors, including 26-year-old Rinima Malik who lost her husband and father-in-law, remain sheltered at Kilapanga Primary School in Kandhamal, clinging to fading hopes amid the ongoing tragedy that has left the local community devastated.
The multi-agency operation, involving personnel from the Ganjam and Kandhamal administrations, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, National Disaster Response Force and Fire Services, has faced severe obstacles. Massive boulders, some reportedly as large as houses, heaps of mud, difficult terrain and the lack of road connectivity have prevented heavy machinery from reaching the site. Assistance from the Mines Department was also sought to break the obstructing boulders.
Search efforts were, however, halted on November 4 over safety concerns, with Collector V Keerthi Vasan citing impending rain and potential landslides. He had then told the media that operations will only resume once the site is deemed safe for rescuers.
Meanwhile, the administration has assured affected families of temporary accommodation followed by permanent houses for those willing to settle in Ganjam, along with ex-gratia assistance of ₹4 lakh each for the bereaved.