Sikkim Flash Flood: Death Toll Mounts To 70, Over 350 Stranded Tourists Rescued; Central Team Visits Spot

Search and rescue operations by?the Indian Air Force have been underway?in the Himalayan state. Airlifting of over 350 stranded tourists has already taken place in North Sikkim.

Central team visits Sikkim

It has been reported that the members of the central team went to the affected areas in Gangtok, Pakyong and Mangan districts. Among the areas they visited were IBM, Rangpo, ATTC-Bardang, Golitar, Singtam, Dikchu and Phidang where they assessed damage caused to buildings, power lines, roads and bridges, officials said.

The inter-ministerial central team visited a relief camp in Majigaon and made certain recommendations for the maintenance of proper sanitation at rescue centres besides suggesting counselling of the inmates to boost their morale.

On the financial assistance, they said that priority will be given to immediate and short-term requirements of the state, and assured that release of funds will be expedited so that normalcy can be restored at the earliest.

Death Toll in Sikkim Flash Flood

Previously while the Sikkim government said 36 people have died in the flash flood in the Teesta river triggered by a cloudburst in the early hours of last Wednesday, the authorities of the neighbouring Jalpaiguri district of northern West Bengal reported that 41 bodies have been found at various places along the river which, after flowing through both the states heads towards Bangladesh.

Officials, however, warned that the figures reported by Sikkim and West Bengal will have some duplication, though both states were keeping each other informed of their respective rescue efforts.

Officials in Jalpaiguri district said the river carried the bodies of two army personnel to Bangladesh and from there, those were handed over to the BSF by the authorities of the neighbouring country.

Of the 36 deaths reported in the small Himalayan state, Pakyong district reported the maximum number of fatalities at 24, including 10 army personnel, followed by six in Gangtok, four in Mangan and two in Namchi.

Altogether 80 people are now missing in those four districts, while the total number of affected population is 87,300, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its 8 pm bulletin.

Search?and Rescue Operation

The Indian Air Force has started humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations in Sikkim, and rescued the first batch of stranded tourists from Lachen to Mangan aboard a helicopter, a Defence official said.

The MI-17 and Chinook helicopters under the Indian Air Force conducted a total of 10 rounds successfully from Lachung, evacuating 354 tourists, including 13 tourists from Bangladesh.

It also carried emergency service personnel and essential supplies to Lachen.

"The IAF commenced its humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations from Air Force Station Bagdogra for the flood victims of Sikkim on the Air Force Day," the Defence official said.

The evacuation procedure will again resume in the first hour on Tuesday.