Maharashtra rain fury: NDRF retrieves 52 bodies, rescues 1,800 stranded people

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 24 (ANI): The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Saturday said it has retrieved 52 bodies from sites of landslides, rescued 1,800 stranded people and evacuated 87 others to safer places in Maharashtra, which has witnessed floods due to heavy rains.
An extensive search is on for missing persons, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said in a statement, adding that rescue and relief operations are being run in Maharashtra's Raigad, Ratnagiri and Satara districts.
For immediate response during the flood in any part of the country, 149 NDRF teams have been deployed or prepositioned, the force said.
NDRF said its 26 teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations in Mumbai, Thane, Ratnagiri, Palghar, Raigad, Sahara, Sangli, Sindhudurg Nagar and Kolhapur in coordination with the state administration.
Additional eight teams are being airlifted to Maharashtra-- four each from Kolkata and Vadodara.
NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi told ANI that all additional NDRF teams will arrive in Maharashtra by Saturday evening.
"At least 18 NDRF teams were deployed in flood-affected areas in Maharashtra till Friday afternoon and eight additional teams were rushed by the evening to assist the personnel involved in ongoing rescue and relief work," Shahedi said.
To supplement the deployment, teams have also been put on high alert at NDRF Battalion, Pune, an NDRF statement said.
It said that rescuers are putting best efforts to provide immediate assistance to the needy in the flood rescue operations. "Rescue and relief operations are still in progress."
The landslide caused by heavy rains in Raigad district in Maharashtra has led to the death of at least 36 persons.
An NDRF team is undertaking the rescue efforts at the site of the incident and efforts are being made to airlift another team from Kurla. The team could not land on Friday due to bad weather conditions.
The NDRF is constantly tracking the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) weather forecast and Central Water Commission's report and taking actions accordingly, the statement said. (ANI)