SDRF personnel, police and local residents carried out a night-long rescue operation after the Penli Ward landslide in Mokokchung on July 29.
Morung Express News
Mokokchung | July 29
A night of heavy rain turned tragic at Upper Penli Ward in Mokokchung when a landslide tore into a rented house at around 12:30 - 1:00 am on Wednesday, claiming the lives of two teenage brothers and leaving their mother injured.
The victims, Muwalong Sangtam, 19, a Class XII student, and Thridiba Sangtam, 16, a Class XI student, were students of Queen Mary Higher Secondary School (GMHSS), Mokokchung. The brothers were sons of Merenba Sangtam of Alisopur village, under Tuensang district.
According to the Eastern Nagaland People’s Union Mokokchung (ENPUM), the family was staying in a rented house at Upper Penli Ward, above the Sangtam Baptist Church pastor’s residence. Their mother survived the disaster and later received medical care.
The Office of the District Commandant, Home Guards, Civil Defence and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Mokokchung, stated that it received information about the incident at around 1:00 a.m. A rescue team led by Company Commander Lanutemjen, accompanied by SI Tingkam and 23 SDRF personnel, left the unit headquarters at 1:30 a.m. and rushed to the site.
By the time the team arrived, colony residents had pulled the mother and the eldest son from the damaged house. The two younger brothers, however, remained buried beneath mud and debris.
For hours, SDRF personnel and local residents worked in dangerous conditions, manually removing debris from the unstable landslide zone. The District Administration, police, Penli Ward Colony Council, colony youths and residents joined the rescue effort. At around 5:30 a.m., the bodies of the two brothers were recovered and handed over to the police.
Local sources said the landslide triggered the collapse of a retaining wall above the house. The eldest son was reportedly awake when he heard a sound outside and stepped out to check; moments later, the slope gave way, trapping the mother and the two brothers. The mother was reportedly buried in mud upto her waist when the residents rescued her.
The landslide also partially damaged a house below the affected residence. No one was in the damaged room at the time. Residents of that house, as well as occupants of three houses above the landslide site, have since been evacuated because of the risk of further collapse.
Sources said the family had returned to Mokokchung from their native village only a few days earlier, following the reopening of schools on July 28 after the summer break.
The bodies were taken to Alisopur village after a short prayer service at the Sangtam Baptist Church Compound.
According to a DIPR update, the mortal remains were received at the native village by grieving village leaders, family members, well-wishers, and members of the Sangtam community, who gathered to pay their final respects. The mortal remains were later laid to rest at Alisophur village.
