Manipur landslide: Three more bodies found, toll rises to 53

Imphal: Three more bodies were found on Monday at the railway construction site in Manipur's Noney district that was ravaged by a landslide on June 30, officials said.

With the recovery of these bodies, the toll in the landslide at the Tupul construction camp rose to 53, they said.

Eight people are still missing, and a search is on for them, they added.

"The rescue operation will continue till all the victims are found," Disaster Management Minister Awangbow Newmai said.

In wake of the hardships being faced by the rescue personnel, a review meeting will be held to discuss about providing additional forces for the operation, he said.

Noney's Deputy Commissioner Haulianlal Guite said the identification of bodies was becoming increasingly difficult due to "tissue deterioration".

Finding the missing bodies too has become difficult as the ability to trace decreases with depth, he said.

The search operations start from 4 am every day and continue till 6 pm if the weather is favourable, officials said.