4 including 3 Myanmar refugees killed in landslides as heavy rain lash Mizoram

Aizawl: Four persons, including three Myanmar refugees were killed and one injured when their houses collapsed due to landslides triggered by heavy rain in Mizoram on Saturday, taking the toll in the current monsoon to five, officials said. Three persons aged between 34 and 71 years from a Myanmar family have died and another was injured when a massive landslide struck and buried their rented house at Vaphai village in east Mizoram's Champhai district near the Myanmar border on early Saturday, they said. The family has been taking shelter in the village since 2021 following the military coup in the neighbouring country, they said. The injured person was taken to a nearby hospital at Farkawn.

In a separate incident, a 53-year-old man was killed when his house collapsed due to landslide in Serchhip district about 114 km from state capital Aizawl on Saturday. Officials said that the victim succumbed to his injuries in Serchhip district hospital. On Friday, a 37-year-old man was killed and another injured when a wall collapsed on a labourer camp at Aizawl's Thuampui area. Mizoram has been experiencing heavy rain since Friday, triggering landslides and rockfalls at several places. An IMD report said Lawngtlai district received 205 mm of rainfall on Saturday followed by Khawzawl district 184 mm, Hnahthial district 130 and Aizawl received 91 mm of rainfall. At least 56 houses were damaged in 147 landslides across the state on Saturday, according to a bulletin by state emergency operation centre. Sixty-three families were also evacuated to safer places due to landslides and floods, it said. Landslides have also blocked national and intra-state highways at 69 locations, the bulletin said. Officials also said that many travellers intending to travel to the southern part of the state were stranded in Serchhip town after landslides damaged a national highway. A report from Lawngtlai town said two persons were rescued from the debris of buildings that collapsed due to landslides triggered by heavy rain on Friday.

An official said the two survivors were rescued on Saturday morning and the search for the other missing persons is underway. No fatality has been reported so far and the number of missing persons is yet to be ascertained, he said. Rescue operation and debris clearance are being carried out by personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), security forces along with volunteers of Young Lai Association (YLA), the largest civil society organisation in Lawngtlai district, he said. The incident occurred at around 10:30 am on Friday in the border area of Bazar Veng and Chandmary localities in Lawngtlai when the landslides struck a four-storey building and five other houses, including two under construction, according to the official. One floor of the four-storey building was used as a hotel and around 20 people from Myanmar were believed to be staying in the hotel at the time of the incident. However, the majority of the occupants(guests) have reportedly escaped before the building collapsed, while occupants of other buildings did not spend the night at their homes when the incident occurred, he said.