6 killed, 18 missing after Tiware dam breaches in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri

At least six people were killed and 18 are missing after a dam in Maharashtra's coastal Konkan region breached following incessant rains leading to flood-like situation in downstream villages, officials said Wednesday.

The Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district developed a breach late Tuesday night after heavy rains, a district official said.

So far three bodies have been recovered, he said, adding that according to villagers 23 people are still missing.

As the water gushed out in a flood-like situation, at least seven villages downstream were inundated, a dozen homes washed away and around two dozen people have been reported missing.

Teams of the fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Pune and Sindhudurg, besides volunteers from nearby areas, have launched rescue operations on war footing. Top civic and police officials have rushed to the disaster spot.

The dam was built in the year 2000. People in the area claimed they had informed the district authorities of its leakage two years back but no repairs were carried out.

Large parts of Maharashtra have been battered with heavy rain in the past five days, and on Tuesday at least 40 people were killed in rain-related incidents across the state.