Odisha steps up multi-agency search, rescue operations for 10 people missing in landslide

An excavator machinery clearing uprooted trees and mud debris to restore traffic movement after a landslide blocked the Kaipur-Gangabad road following heavy rains, in Gajapati on Saturday. File | Photo Credit: ANI The Odisha government on Monday (November 2, 2026) stepped up multi-agency search and rescue (SAR) operations, engaging ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and other specialised equipment at a hilltop village on the Ganjam-Kandhamal border, where 10 people went missing after a massive landslide triggered by rain hit the area during Cyclone Arnab last week.Odisha's Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the SAR operation at the Gidipabali village landslide site, under Bhanjanagar block of Ganjam district, entered its fourth day.Mr. Pujari said 157 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), the Railways and Fire Services are engaged in the operation, along with 25 local volunteers. Daily labourers are also engaged, he said, adding that all modern technology is being used to trace the 10 missing people.During the four days of the SAR operation, the bodies of two persons were recovered on Sunday (November 1, 2026) from among the 12 people who went missing in the landslide on Thursday night (October 29, 2026), said Director-General of Fire Services S. Sarangi."We are facing difficulty in removing huge boulders that rolled down the hills and fell on houses, beneath which some bodies are suspected to be buried," he said.Mr. Sarangi said the teams are now using explosives to blast the huge boulders before removing the debris from the damaged houses.The bodies recovered so far have been identified as those of Salman Pradhan (29) and Rabi Mallick (52) of Gidipabali village. Published - November 03, 2026 07:02 pm IST