Three labourers killed and two missing in Assam landslide

Three labourers were killed while search was on for two others as their camp was buried by a landslide in a remote forest in Assam's Cachar district along Manipur, police said on Thursday. 

Bodies of three labourers were recovered on Wesnesday evening by villagers from the spot in the forest area of Kantum under Lakhipur sub-division and search was on for the other two, Officer in Charge (OC) of Jirighat police station said. The five persons on Sunday had gone to the forest and set up a temporary camp. Incessant rainfall triggered the landslide on Monday night overrunning their camp and buried them there, the OC said.

The next day the local people began the rescue work but they could recover only three bodies last evening, police said. The area is so remote that the only means of communication from there to the nearest town is by crossing the river Barak, police said.

The three recovered bodies have been identified as Ganesh Chetri (41) of Dalu Tea garden, Kartick Bauri (43) of Binnakandi and Sonu Chetri of Bhubandhar. The untraced persons are Bijan Bauri of Bhubandhar and Sukumar Bhakta of Dilkhoosh.

The bodies were brought to Fulertol near Lakhipur by boat to be sent for post-mortem to Silchar Medical College Hospital.