Rescuers pulled out more bodies from the site of a massive landslide in western India as the death toll climbed to 77, officials said Saturday, according to dpa. The landslide devastated the village of Malin in Maharashtra state on Wednesday, flattening 44 homes, most of them made of mud, thatch and bamboo. Eight people, including a 3-month-old boy, were rescued from the 15-foot-high mounds of mud and stone. "Eleven more bodies were found since Friday night taking the death toll to 77," said Vikram Singh, an official at the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). NDRF estimates that more than 110 people are still missing. But there appears to be little hope of finding survivors as incessant rains have hampered rescue operations in the hilly terrain. "The houses are buried under layers of mud that makes chances of survival really slim since no oxygen can go in," senior NDRF official Vinod Joseph said. "No survivors were found in the past two days. The rescues were made on the first day itself," he added. Sniffer dogs and gadgets being used to detect signs of life were not effective as heavy mud had covered the village. Environment experts have suggested that deforestation in the area may have caused the landslide after heavy rains. State authorities have said that people living in landslide-prone areas in the region will be moved out to prevent future disasters.
