Woman trapped in Rupnagar landslip, rescue teams race against time

Guwahati: A landslide struck Guwahati’s Rupnagar area on Monday morning, trapping a woman under debris. According to officials from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), despite an ongoing search and rescue operation, the woman remained untraced as of late evening.The trapped woman has been identified as Reena Deka Das, a resident of Rupnagar. Officials said she was inside the bathroom of her home when a boulder, dislodged by the landslide, crashed down the hillside and buried part of the structure.Moononjon Ramchiary, response team commander for fire and emergency services, said the incident occurred at around 11:30am. “We are actively scouring the area to locate the woman. At the time of the incident, no one else was home — her daughter was out shopping, and her husband, an auto-rickshaw driver, was at work,” he said.Upon receiving the alert, city police and the national disaster response force (NDRF) rushed to the scene. Over 30 rescue personnel have been deployed to clear debris and rescue the woman.When asked about the cause of the landslide, Ramchiary said a 5.9-magnitude earthquake on Sunday evening destabilised the already fragile hillside, and continuous heavy rainfall further loosened the soil. “The tremors destabilised the ground, and the rain added pressure, causing the collapse. These areas are particularly vulnerable during the monsoon,” he added.Deputy commissioner of police (west Guwahati), Mrinal Deka, said the incident took place near Rupaknagar’s Sai Baba temple. He said rescue teams have been working continuously, breaking apart large boulders in an effort to recover the body.This incident comes nearly four months after a similar tragedy at Paschim Rupnagar in the city, where a boulder rolled down a slope, destroyed a house, and claimed the life of a 62-year-old man.