Child among three buried under debris as rain-triggered landslide strike Aizawl building

Aizawl, July 2 (IANS) Three members of a family, including a four-year-old girl, were buried alive under the debris after their tin-roofed concrete building on the outskirts of the Mizroram capital collapsed due to a huge landslide on Tuesday, officials said.A disaster management official said that a huge landslide occurred following incessant rain since Monday night.Some of the family members managed to run away but a couple and their minor child have been buried under the debris, the official said, adding that a rescue operation is now underway.According to officials, four more houses were also swept away by massive landslides on Tuesday in the Zuangtui and Bawngkawn areas on the outskirts of Aizawl.In view of the heavy rains, the Education Department has announced the closure of all schools on Tuesday.Incessant heavy rain has affected several parts of hilly Mizoram since Monday, causing large-scale damage in different districts. The state Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department had earlier issued an alert in anticipation of heavy rainfall and storms.During the last week of May, more than 34 people were killed and many injured due to rain and landslides during the Cyclone Remal in Aizawl and other districts.A high-level inter-ministerial Central team visited the state last week to assess the damage due to the cyclone while the Mizoram government has urged the Central government to provide Rs 237.6 crore to rehabilitate the affected people and repair the damage to the properties caused by landslides and rain triggered by Remal.–IANSsc/vd