Cyclone Arnab death toll reaches five after body found in Odisha village
Search operations continue for 11 missing people in Gidipabali village following a landslide caused by rainfall from Cyclone Arnab.
The death toll from Cyclone Arnab has reached five after a body was recovered on Sunday in the landslide-hit Gidipabali village in southern Odisha. Officials said a search operation is currently underway to find 11 missing people in the area.
Gidipabali village, located on the border of Ganjam and Kandhamal districts, was levelled by sludge and debris earlier this week. Kandhamal District Collector Vedbhusan said the villagers are being sheltered at a relief centre near G Udaygiri.
Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil told reporters on Sunday that 14 of the 26 villagers have been accounted for. He added that the details of the deceased person found on Sunday are not yet known.
A total of 177 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, Fire Service, Special Operation Group, railways, and the Indian Navy are searching the site. The team is using a seismic life detection unit and a railway chain pulley system for evacuations.
Odisha has reported 10 landslides due to rain from the cyclone, which made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on October 28. Earlier, three family members died in a Kandhamal landslide and one man was swept away in Gajapati district.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the state government is taking all possible measures to save the missing people. Leader of the opposition Naveen Patnaik said he was concerned and saddened by the landslide in Bhanjanagar.