AIZAWL, July 3 - Two children and a woman were killed as the buildings in which they lived, caved in due to a massive landslide at Durtlang Leitan around 6 pm on Tuesday.
Nine others were injured as three building blocks of the Basic Service to Urban Poor (BSUP) housing complex situated on a hill slope were knocked down by the massive landslip triggered by a heavy downpour.
The deceased are Sainghinglovi (52), Lalnunfeli (13) and Lalpeksanga (8). The body of Lalpeksanga was recovered around 7 am today, while the other two bodies were recovered on Tuesday night.
The nine injured persons, including a 12-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy, were taken to the Synod Hospital at Durtlang.
Officials said 18 families lived in the three buildings that had collapsed. The other residents were evacuated and are taking shelter in a community hall.
Rescue operations were swiftly taken up by the State Disaster Response Force under the supervision of the Aizawl District Disaster Management Authority headed by Vanlalngaihsaka, Aizawl DC, with the support of the police, traffic and several NGO members.
Several ministers and MLAs visited the site last night and this morning. Chief Minister Zoramthanga also inspected the site and visited the injured persons at the hospital. He promised all possible assistance to the families of the deceased and those injured.
�The people of Mizoram and the State Government share the suffering of the victims. The Government will take steps to rehabilitate the victims. I also extend gratitude to the people for their support,� Zoramthanga tweeted in Mizo, hours after he visited the site.
Information and Public Relations Minister Lalruatkima, Education Minister Lalchhandama Ralte, Agriculture Minister C Lalrinsanga, Deputy Speaker Er Lalrinawma and Aizawl North I MLA Vanlalhlana were among the those who reached the site on Tuesday night to oversee the rescue operation.
The BSUP housing complex at Durtlang, home to many below poverty line (BPL) families, consists of 20 building blocks and a community hall.
The BSUP complex was constructed in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 64 lakh for each building, totalling about Rs 26.23 crore for the entire complex. The complex was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on his visit to Mizoram on November 30, 2017 along with the BSUP building complexes at Lawipu, Edenthar and Rangvamual.
