A landslide struck Patan village in Maval taluka of Pune district in the early hours of Monday, July 6, following incessant heavy rainfall across the region.
The landslide caused a portion of a hill to collapse onto a house, burying the structure under mud and debris. Authorities have confirmed that one person has died while two others are feared to be trapped beneath the debris. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
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Emergency response teams, including officials from the Pune district administration, Maval Tehsil, local police, and disaster management authorities, rushed to the scene soon after the incident. A 30-member team from the 5th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also deployed to assist in the rescue efforts. Equipped with specialised search and rescue equipments, the team has been working to locate the missing persons while carefully clearing the unstable debris.
Continuous heavy rainfall along with the remote location of Patan village combined with unstable soil and risk of additional landslides has slowed down the search operation.
The landslide comes amidst an intense spell of monsoon activity across western Maharashtra. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for parts of the state, warning of further heavy rainfall. Lonavala has also recorded exceptionally high rainfall, resulting in waterlogging, floodind and multiple landslides.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway had to be temporarily closed because of landslides, flooding and debris on the roads. Rail services between Karjat and Lonavala were severely affected after landslides blocked tracks, resulting in the cancellation and diversion of several trains. Furthermore, flooding, waterlogging, overflowing rivers, and multiple landslides have been reported from Maval, Lonavala and nearby areas, prompting authorities to carry out several rescue and evacuation operations.
As per the current status in Patan, one casualty has been confirmed, two people remain unaacounted for and rescue teams are continuing search operations despite the adverse weather conditions. Authorities are monitoring the area closely as persistent rainfall continues to pose the threat of further landslides.
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