Manipur flash flood: Search enters day 3 for Class 8 girl swept away in Churachandpur
Synopsis
A 14-year-old schoolgirl named Lamboikim has been missing for three days after flash floods swept her away in Manipur's Churachandpur district on 11 June. Despite SDRF teams with inflatable boats, community volunteers, and civil society groups combing the Tuitha River, adverse weather and swollen currents have so far frustrated all search efforts.
Key Takeaways
Lamboikim , a 14-year-old Class 8 student of Radhakrishnan Foundation School, was swept away by flash floodwaters on 11 June at Laijon Veng, Tuibong Sub-Division, Churachandpur .
Search operations entered their third consecutive day on Saturday, 13 June with no trace of the girl as of Saturday evening.
An SDRF team led by Havildar Riyajuddin was deployed from Imphal and reached the site on Friday , deploying inflatable boats and specialised rescue equipment.
Volunteers from Kuki Khanglai Lawpi (KKL) and Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) are conducting parallel searches along the Tuitha River .
Adverse weather, swollen currents, and inadequate rescue infrastructure have hampered the operation.
Search operations entered their third consecutive day on Saturday, 13 June to locate Lamboikim, a 14-year-old Class 8 student swept away by flash floodwaters in Churachandpur district, Manipur, with the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) now leading a multi-agency rescue effort along the Tuitha River. The girl has not been traced as of Saturday evening, according to district officials.
How the Incident Unfolded
The tragedy struck on 11 June at Laijon Veng in the Tuibong Sub-Division of Churachandpur, when Lamboikim — a student of Radhakrishnan Foundation School — was returning home from school. Incessant rainfall had swollen local waterways, and she was caught in the raging currents and carried away. The location where she was last seen, referred to as Zero Point, became the focal point for rescue teams.
SDRF Deployment and Search Operations
Acting on a requisition from the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Tuibong, endorsed by the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur — who also heads the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) — an SDRF team was dispatched from Imphal. The team, led by Team Leader Havildar Riyajuddin, reached the site on Friday and immediately commenced operations. Inflatable boats and specialised rescue equipment have been deployed to scour the river and surrounding areas. Riyajuddin assured the family and local residents that the search would continue until the girl was found.
Community Mobilisation
Well before government agencies arrived, local youth clubs, civil society organisations, and philanthropic groups had already launched extensive search efforts along the Tuitha River. Volunteers from the Kuki Khanglai Lawpi (KKL) and the Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), Churachandpur, alongside residents, have been conducting large-scale parallel operations. The combined community-and-government effort continued throughout Saturday.
Challenges Hampering the Search
Despite sustained efforts over three days, adverse weather conditions, swollen river currents, and limited rescue infrastructure in the area have made locating the girl extremely difficult. Authorities expressed hope that the operation would yield results, but conditions remained challenging as of Saturday evening.
The search is expected to continue into the coming days, with authorities and community volunteers maintaining a coordinated presence along the Tuitha River.
Point of View
After community volunteers had already been searching alone for over 24 hours. That lag is not incidental; it reflects the structural challenge of deploying response assets to remote sub-divisions in time to matter. Churachandpur's terrain and weather window make each passing hour consequential, and the absence of pre-positioned rescue equipment in flood-prone sub-divisions like Tuibong is a policy question that will outlast this search operation.
NationPress
12 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lamboikim and what happened to her?
Lamboikim is a 14-year-old Class 8 student of Radhakrishnan Foundation School in Churachandpur, Manipur. She was swept away by flash floodwaters on 11 June while returning home from school at Laijon Veng in the Tuibong Sub-Division.
What is the current status of the search operation?
As of Saturday evening, 13 June, the search had entered its third consecutive day with Lamboikim still untraced. SDRF teams with inflatable boats and community volunteers are combing the Tuitha River and adjoining areas.
Which agencies are involved in the rescue effort?
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), led by Havildar Riyajuddin, is heading the official operation. Community groups including the Kuki Khanglai Lawpi (KKL), Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), local youth clubs, and civil society organisations are also conducting parallel searches.
Why has the girl not been found despite three days of searching?
Adverse weather conditions, swollen and fast-moving river currents, and a lack of adequate rescue infrastructure in the remote Tuibong Sub-Division have severely hampered search efforts, according to officials.
When did the SDRF team reach the site?
The SDRF team was dispatched from Imphal after a requisition by the Tuibong SDO and reached the site on Friday, 12 June — one day after the incident — and began operations from Zero Point, where Lamboikim was last seen.
