Tura, Oct 5: An entire family of seven members, including women and children, have been killed in a major landslide triggered by torrential rains in Gasuapara region of South Garo Hills district on Friday.
The death toll from one of the worst natural calamities to hit Garo Hills in recent times has climbed to ten, after three bodies were earlier retrieved from Dalu region of West Garo Hills on Friday.
Heavy rains throughout Thursday night and early Friday morning triggered multiple flash floods and landslides across South and West Garo Hills bringing death to families.
The family of seven, including two children, were inside their home in the remote village of Hatiasia Songmong, Ruga region under Gasuapara Block, waiting out the storm when tragedy struck during the early part of the morning.
A large section of the hill, located behind their house, suddenly came down bringing dowb tons of soil. There was no time to escape and they were buried alive.
Despite frantic attempts by villagers to try and dig through several feet of soil to rescue the victims, it was unsuccessful as the entire house got buried with just the roof top visible.
With roads inundated and communication snapped, it took several hours for rescue teams with mechanized equipment to reach the remote village.
The bodies of all seven victims have so far not been able to be retrieved from the mountain of mud that came down on them on Friday morning.
Deputy Commissioner of South Garo Hills along with teams of NDRF and SDRF are already on site trying to locate the bodies from beneath the soil.
The victims were the mother of the house, 60 year old Silje R Marak and her daughter Merina R Marak (39 years), Sama N Sangma (50 year old man), Miss Chengbe R Marak (22 years), 14 year teenager Desrang R Marak, Miss Silbera R Marak (8 years) and 1 year 6 month old infant Miss Dimse R Marak.
In the last few years, Garo Hills has witnessed multiple calamities, including the devastating flash floods in 2022 that took away ten lives in the Siju-Baghmara region.
But casualties on such a large scale from a single family has never occured, until now.
A similar incident took place in Gambegre block of West Garo Hills during a cloud burst in 2022 when a hill came down on a house in which a family of five were asleep. An alert son managed to raise the alarm and with the help of villagers pulled out the father from the rubble alive. Sadly, the mother, daughter and infant son perished in the incident.
Authorities have for long been advising villagers to avoid settling down below hillocks and hills to avoid getting trapped in landslides, but poverty and land scarcity compel many to construct dwellings in whichever place they get, often with deadly consequences.
