Landslide in Pune village claims at least 10; over 150 feared trapped

At least 10 people died and over 150 others are feared trapped under debris after a landslide triggered by heavy rains devastated a village in Pune district of Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Reports said the toll is likely to rise with more bodies being extracted from the rubble.

The landslide completely destroyed over 40 houses in Malin village in Ambegaon taluk of the district that came in its path. There are over 750 residents in the village, reports said.

"Today around 7 am in Ambegaon Tehsil of Pune, around 44 houses have been damaged due to landslide. District administration is present there and I'm leaving for the spot with two of our ministers," CNN-IBN quoted Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who has left for the accident site, as saying.

The landslide was triggered by two overflowing lakes.

The ill-fated village is just 10 km from Bhimashankar Jyotirling Temple and 70 km from Pune city.

Meanwhile, the central government has rushed around 300 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force to help rescue people who are trapped in the landslide.

Reports said nearly 80 personnel of the NDRF have already reached landslide hit Ambegaon and joined in the rescue operations, while 220 more are on their way to the spot.

The district administration has also activated search and rescue operations.

However, heavy rains coupled with remoteness of the area is hampering rescue work. The district collector and other officials are at the spot.