20 people feared dead in remote India landslide: official

Local magistrate Memi Maryside says side of hill collapsed on village in Manipur state close to border with Myanmar

GUWAHATI, INDIA: Rescuers were searching for some 20 villagers feared killed in a landslide triggered by torrential rain on Sunday in a remote region of north-eastern India, a local official said.

The side of a hill collapsed on Saturday on a village in Manipur state close to the border with Myanmar, said local magistrate Memi Mary.

In this photograph taken on August 1, 2015, Indian villagers wade through floodwaters in Bherampur Block, Murshidabad District, some 220kms north of Kolkata as the remnants of Cyclone Komen carrying heavy monsoon rains cross the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. PHOTO: AFP

"So far we have reports of 20 people killed when a hillock caved and trapped the villagers," the magistrate told AFP by telephone from the town of Chandel.

Mary said rescuers have arrived at the village in Chandel district after blocked roads hampered efforts to reach the site, some 80 kilometres from the state capital Imphal.

In this photograph taken on August 1, 2015, Indian villagers wade through floodwaters in Bherampur Block, Murshidabad District, some 220kms north of Kolkata as the remnants of Cyclone Komen carrying heavy monsoon rains cross the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. PHOTO: AFP

Photos showed a bridge washed away by raging floodwaters in Manipur, while TV stations showed footage of a house collapsing and families sleeping in evacuation centres.

The national government has ordered rescue and relief teams be sent to the state as the annual monsoon wreaks havoc across the region.

In this photograph taken on August 1, 2015, Indian villagers paddle a small boat through floodwaters in Bherampur Block, Murshidabad District, some 220kms north of Kolkata as the remnants of Cyclone Komen carrying heavy monsoon rains cross the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. PHOTO: AFP

In the western state of Gujarat the death toll from days of flooding after heavy rain has reached 53, as a result of drowning, electrocution and other incidents.

More than 10,000 people have been evacuated across Gujarat in the past week. But officials said waters were now receding, allowing power and communications to be restored.

In this photograph taken on August 1, 2015, Indian villagers wade through floodwaters in Bherampur Block, Murshidabad District, some 220kms north of Kolkata as the remnants of Cyclone Komen carrying heavy monsoon rains cross the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. PHOTO: AFP

"The death toll has reached 53 since July 26 with 23 deaths in the worst-affected Banaskantha district alone," an official in the state's emergency control room told AFP.