Boko, June 29: A 35-year-old earthmoving machine operator from Assam’s Boko lost his life after a landslide buried the Poklen machine he was operating in the remote Walong area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district on Sunday night.

The deceased, Rupam Rabha, a resident of Bongaon Burhigaon under Boko, was operating the machine when the landslide struck at around 8.30 pm, burying both the equipment and its operator under tonnes of mud and rocks. He died on the spot, according to local sources.

Rabha had travelled to Arunachal Pradesh in search of livelihood and was engaged in infrastructure development work in the mountainous border district, where landslides are a recurring hazard during the monsoon.

He is survived by his wife and a four-year-old son. His untimely death has cast a pall of gloom over his native village, with residents mourning the loss of a hardworking young man.

The tragedy also underscores the risks faced by hundreds of workers from Assam and other northeastern states who travel to remote, high-altitude project sites in search of employment, often working in difficult terrain prone to landslides and other natural hazards.