Mudslide kills at least 15 in India’s remote northeast

Torrential rains triggered a mudslide which buried a labour camp in India’s remote northeast bordering China early Friday, killing at least 15 people, police said.

Rescuers were searching for two missing workers from the mountainous camp in Tawang, a tourist spot in Arunachal Pradesh state, said police officer Nabin Payeng. Tawang is a Buddhist mountain retreat.

Rescuers found 15 bodies buried in the debris. Three workers escaped from the camp, which is at an altitude of more than 3,000 metres (7,500 feet), Payeng said. The area was lashed by pre-monsoon rains this week.

Landslides are common in the area, usually during the monsoon season which runs from June through September.