1998 Malpa landslide (original) (raw)

The Malpa landslide was one of the worst landslides in India. On 18 August 1998 at 3.00 a.m., massive landslide wiped away the entire village of Malpa in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, then in Uttar Pradesh in Kali Valley of Higher Kumaon division of the Himalayas. The rockfall started on 16 August bringing down huge rocks which initially killed three mules. A total of 221 people died, including 60 Hindu pilgrims traveling to Tibet as part of "Kailash Manas Sarovar Yatra". One noted death was that of the Indian dancer Protima Bedi. The rockfall continued till 21 August. As the area lies in a seismic zone, the earthquakes of 1979 and 1980 may have been the underlying cause, as was attributed by a report of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.