The hunt for potential survivors of a large landslide that killed 16 people and was thought to have trapped more than 100 people in western India was resumed by rescue crews on Friday.
More than a day after the disaster, which happened at midnight on Thursday, Indian television news outlets said that thick fog and heavy rain made already challenging rescue efforts even more difficult on Friday.
About 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Mumbai, in the isolated mountain hamlet of Irshalwadi in the state of Maharashtra, land broke way in the middle of the night, crushing several homes and trapping many residents.
Rescuers found 16 bodies, and the National Disaster Response Force’s (NDRF) Atul Karwal told reporters that local officials had advised them to call off the search.
Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, told the state parliament on Thursday that at least 225 people lived in the hamlet, and that over 80 had managed to flee. According to media reports, more than 100 people were believed to be trapped under the debris.
In recent days, a wave of high heat, wildfires, heavy rain, and flooding has wrecked devastation around the world, prompting new concerns about the rate of climate change.
