​​​​​​​Bhubaneswar, October 31: A massive search operation is underway to trace 12 people who went missing after a rain-triggered landslide struck a hilltop village along the Ganjam-Kandhamal district border in Odisha, officials said on Saturday.

The state government has deployed 170 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and Special Operation Group (SOG) to search for the missing villagers.

Special Relief Commissioner Rajesh P Patil said the village had a population of 26 people. While 13 residents managed to escape the landslide, the remaining 13 were initially reported missing. One of them has since been traced, while the whereabouts of the other 12 remain unknown.

“The search operation has been underway since Friday night,” Patil told reporters in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, adding that teams were continuing efforts to locate the missing people.