Mudslide claims 17 lives in remote northeast India

At least seventeen people have lost their lives when incessant rains triggered a mudslide that buried a camp for construction workers in India's far-flung northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh on the border with China.

Police officer Anto Alphonse said rescuers have recovered 16 bodies in the camp in the mountainous Tawang town, and another worker succumbed to his injuries on the way to a hospital.

The construction workers were purportedly building a hotel at the site and were soundly asleep, when the natural calamity took place on Friday.

Alphonse added that three workers have escaped unscathed from the camp, which is situated at an elevation of approximately 3,048 meters (10,000 feet).

Rescue workers are searching for other people feared trapped in the debris.

Over the past few days, heavy rains have drenched India's remote northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh that lies on the Tibetan border and is claimed in part by China.

SS