Sikkim flash flood: Death toll mounts to 21, over 3,000 tourists stranded; search ops underway to find 100 missing

Flash flood in Sikkim has claimed the lives of at least 21 people, including six soldiers, while 103 people still remain missing. Over 3,000 tourists are reportedly stranded in the northeastern state. So far, 2,500 people have been evacuated and another 6,000 have been moved to relief camps.

Defence officials have said that as the search for the missing Indian Army personnel continues, the Indian Army is constantly providing assistance to the affected people in terms of food, and medical aid and extending communication facilities to civilians and tourists stranded in North Sikkim.

The search operations for the missing army personnel are focussing on the downstream areas of Teesta Barrage. At the site of the incident at Burdang near Singtam, the Army vehicles are being dug out and stores are being recovered. Additional resources in terms of teams of TMR (Tiranga Mountain Rescue), tracker dogs, and special radars have been brought in, to assist in the search operations.

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"Survey is being carried out by all agencies to assess the damage and plan restoration of road connectivity. The road link between Singtam and Burdang has been restored with the clearing of a single lane for vehicular traffic," PRO Defence in Guwahati said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the government of Sikkim has issued another glacial lake burst issue and has issued an advisory to tourists, urging them to delay their travel plans over the risk of explosives and ammunition that have been washed away from an army camp in the flash floods.

The District Collector, Mangan District - where four people have died and 17 are still missing- said, "We were able to establish contact with Chungthang last night. We came to know that the entire town was full of slush. So, they have engaged machinery to clear the town. So far, there is no report of anyone missing from Chungthang town. But the damage has been extensive. People have been shifted to BOP area."

He added, " Today, we were supposed to take a helicopter to Lachung and come down to Chungthang. But because of the weather conditions, helicopter may not come. So, we have decided to send a team on foot...One team will reach Chungthang today and will assess the actual situation. No casualties from Chungthang so far. There are reports of people missing from different areas but we have no report of anyone losing their life. Property damage has been extensive."

With inputs from agencies