Bhubaneswar: At least 12 persons are reportedly missing after landslide and flash flood swept through a village near the Ganjam-Kandhamala border in Odisha following heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Arnab.
According to preliminary information, around 20 villagers from Gidipabali village, under Baibali gram panchayat in Bhanjanagar block of Ganjam district, were shifting to a shelter home at Katijanga in Kandhamala district as the downpour intensified.
However, only seven or eight people managed to reach the shelter home, and the whereabouts of the remaining 12 are still not known.
A landslide in the hilly area triggered a sudden surge of floodwater swept through the route along which the villagers were travelling.
Bhanjanagar Sub-Collector Umashankar Behera informed that efforts were underway to locate the missing villagers.
The administrations of Kandhamala and Ganjam districts have launched search and rescue operations to trace the missing persons. Ganjam Police is also coordinating the search operation.
In a separate incident, three members of a family were killed in a landslide at Dangesi village under Raikia block in Kandhamala.