Gangtok: A senior officer and his family are among the six Army personnel missing after Sunday evening’s massive landslide at Chaten, near Lachen, in the Mangan district of Sikkim. The landslide, set off by intense and continuous rainfall, demolished part of an Army camp.
Rescuers managed to pull out four persons with minor injuries, while three bodies were retrieved. Those killed have been identified as Havildar Lakhwinder Singh, Lance Naik Munish Thakur and Abhishek Lakhada, a porter. Six people are missing.
“A massive operation has been launched to clear the debris and search for people stuck inside. Much of this operation is being conducted at an incline. A lot of mud and rocks are being cleared to get to the structures underneath. Bad weather is hampering rescue operations,” an official said.
Among those missing are Lt Col Pritpal Sandhu, his wife Sqn Leader Arati B Sandhu (Retd), their daughter Amaira Sandhu, Subedar Dharamveer and Sepoys Sainudheen PK and Sunilal Muchahary.
A Ministry of Defence statement has said: “A catastrophic landslide occurred following intense and continuous rainfall in the region, causing the death of three Army men. Their bodies have been recovered while four other soldiers were rescued with minor injuries.”
Lt Gen Zubin Minwalla, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 33 Corps (Trishakti Corps), visited the site on Tuesday to take stock of the situation.
“The Army promptly initiated rescue operations, displaying unparalleled commitment and resilience in the face of adversity,” the 33 Corps said in a social media post. Sources said the entire mountain on which the military camp was located was ravaged. Photographs shared by the Army showed the devastation, with a portion of the camp being wiped out by the landslide.
