Heavy rain and mudslides in India's mountainous north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh have killed 16 people, and six more are still missing.
The landslide hit the village of Laptap in Pamumpare district on Wednesday (NZ time) about 40 km south of the state capital Itanagar.
A local lawmaker, Nabam Tuki, told Reuters a hill caved in on a human settlement area, trapping around two dozen villagers.
“Locals have retrieved 16 bodies from the area and about six more people are reported to be missing," he said.
Mr Tuki said all roads leading to the village are cut off because of the heavy landslides, and medical teams were having a tough time reaching the village.
"We suspect the death toll would mount as no rescue effort is possible now with the weather conditions very bad.”
In the close region of Assam, three people also died in floods and landslides on Wednesday, bringing the death toll in the state to 33 in the past 15 days.
Over 1.2 million people have been affected by floods in over 2000 villages in the state, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said in a bulletin.
It reported that floodwaters have swamped over 100,000 hectares of agricultural land, damaging standing crops.
Reuters
