3 Days After Flash Floods In Sikkim, Over 3,000 Tourists Still Stranded In Lachen & Lachung

Gangtok: Three days after flash floods hit north Sikkim and caused heavy devastation, the situation is far from normal.

Over 3,000 tourists are still stranded at Lachen and Lachung, in Sikkim’s Mangan district, but are safe, reported PTI.

According to officials, Mi-17 helicopters of Indian Air Force tried to carry out rescue and relief operations but couldn’t fly from Bagdogra and Chaten because of inclement weather, low-lying cloud cover and low visibility conditions in the Lachen and Lachung valley.

Roads to Lachen and Lachung have been damaged, and repair work has not been possible yet. Authorities are making every effort to open an alternative route to Chungthang, via Dzongu, for rescue teams to move forward.

NDRF teams and staff from state agencies are engaged in rescue operations in areas like Singtam, Bardang and Rangpo. But the upper reaches of north Sikkim, Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung have been out of bounds.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rain at most places in Mangan district over next five days.

It was in the early hours of Wednesday that a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered flash floods in Teesta river, leaving 27 people — including eight Armymen – dead and 141 missing.

Over 1,200 houses have been damaged and 13 bridges were washed away.