Landslide in western India kills 10 as several feared trapped

At least 10 people were killed and dozens feared trapped under piles of debris following a landslide triggered by torrential rains in India's western state of Maharashtra.

The land collapsed Wednesday night in the remote hamlet of Irshalwadi village in Raigad district, located 60km from state capital Mumbai, where rescuers battled harsh weather to save those trapped.

A team of 60 rescuers and trained trekkers has been deployed to help save people trapped by the landslide, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted.

While 75 people have been rescued, several others are still stuck, as rescue workers trekked for almost two hours with their equipment and sniffer dogs to reach the accident spot.

"The area where the landslide took place reported 499 mm rainfall in the last three days,” Mr Fadnavis said.

Two helicopters of the Indian Air Force were kept on standby to provide support to the rescue operation, but couldn't take off due to the weather conditions, the deputy chief minister added.

The debris at some of the places is between 10 and 29 feet deep, according to SB Singh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force. He said: "It is difficult to bring in heavy machinery to this place. It is a 2.8km trek to reach the spot and we have to remove the debris manually which is likely to take a lot of time."

Chief minister Eknath Shinde arrived at the site on Thursday and said "the priority now is to rescue those still trapped beneath the rubble".

India's meteorological department has put Maharashtra on red alert after multiple bouts of heavy downpours hit the state this week.

The showers have disrupted life for many in the state, including Mumbai, where authorities on Thursday shut schools.

Some pockets of the Raigad district received as much as 400 mm rain in the last 24 hours, according to the weather department, which predicted more rain for Thursday.

Local train services have been disrupted with water flowing inside stations and over tracks. Roads have been submerged, causing traffic jams and leaving commuters stranded, as the National Disaster Response Force deployed teams across the state.

Flash floods and landslides due to record monsoon rains killed more than 100 people in northern India over the last three weeks, officials said, as the downpours caused roads to cave in and homes to collapse.

This week, the Yamuna River reached the compound walls of the Taj Mahal for the first time in 45 years, submerging several historical monuments and gardens surrounding the 17th-century, white-marble mausoleum.

Monsoon rains across the country have already brought about 2 per cent more rainfall this year than normal, India’s weather agency said.