12 missing after rain-triggered landslide hits Odisha village, 170 rescuers deployed

Rescue teams are searching for 12 people missing after a landslide struck Gidipabali village. Cyclone Arnab's incessant rain has caused deaths, flooding and widespread disruption across southern Odisha.

In Short

• Thirteen residents escaped Gidipabali and sheltered at a nearby relief centre
• Hundreds of southern Odisha villages were inundated after incessant rainfall
• Four deaths were reported in separate Kandhamal and Gajapati incidents

The Odisha government has launched a search operation for 12 people who went missing after a rain-triggered landslide hit a village on the border of Ganjam and Kandhamal districts, news agency Press Trust of India reported, citing officials.

The landslide followed incessant rain triggered by cyclone Arnab. Three people, including a nine-month-old baby, died in a separate landslide in Kandhamal district on Friday, while another person was found dead in Gajapati.

Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said 170 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and Special Operation Group were deployed to locate the missing people.

“A hilltop village was home to 26 people. Thirteen of them managed to escape from the landslide, while 13 others went missing. One of the missing people has been traced, and the others are still untraceable. The search operation has been going on since Friday night,” Patil told reporters on Saturday, according to PTI.

The landslide at Gidipabali village under Baibali panchayat in Ganjam's Bhanjanagar block was among 10 such incidents during the heavy rain. Hundreds of villages in southern Odisha were inundated.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said rescue and relief operations had been intensified in flood-affected districts, including Ganjam, with the safety and well-being of residents being given top priority.

“People are being shifted to safer locations, while essential facilities are ensured at relief camps. The administration and rescue teams remain actively engaged in providing all possible assistance to those affected,” Majhi said in a social media post.

Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik said on X that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the tragic incident of landslides in Odisha's Kandhamal district due to the impact of cyclone Arnab, resulting in the loss of several lives and many people going missing”.

“I urge the government to swiftly ensure all necessary steps are taken for the rescue of the people and to facilitate the restoration of normal life,” he said.

The 13 people who escaped the landslide at Gidipabali took shelter at a relief centre near G Udaygiri in Kandhamal. Kandhamal district collector Vedbhusan said two children were among them.

A survivor said a huge mass of sludge came down the hills, burying houses and devastating the village. “Some of us managed to run away from the place, and others were following us. But they could not reach here,” Rinima Mallik said at the relief centre.

Another survivor, Soudamini Mallik, said some of her relatives were still missing and appealed to the administration to save them. “All those who survived had sustained injuries after being hit by the stones,” she said.

G Udayagiri Block Development Officer Satyanarayan Mishra said two injured women, Samita Mallik and Manima Pradhan, had been shifted to a health centre.

Ganjam district collector V Keerthi Vasan said relief work had been accelerated in Aska and other parts of the district. “The overall situation is improving in Aska with coordinated efforts to restore normalcy,” he said, adding that 10 drinking water tankers and around 30,000 bottles had been distributed by Friday evening.

Search teams remain engaged in locating the 12 missing people, while the administration is carrying out rescue and relief work across the rain-affected districts.

- Ends