Sikkim floods: 1,500 tourists stranded in north, bodies of 8 soldiers recovered

Approximately 1,500 tourists are stranded in the Lachung and Lachen valleys in north Sikkim that was struck by a major glacial lake outburst flood earlier this week, Indian Army officials said on Saturday. Bodies of eight missing Army soldiers have been recovered so far, they added.

Officials said while the hinterland was affected, the operational situation along the Line of Actual Control in Sikkim remained stable. “The formations responsible for the border management posture are maintaining a high state of readiness and are optimally stocked as per the operational logistics plan,” the Indian Army said in a statement.

As per the Sikkim government estimate, as many as 142 persons are missing out of which 26 bodies have been recovered so far. All the 26 bodies were found along the river in north Bengal and an additional four bodies were handed over by Bangladesh border forces.

Out of the 26 recovered bodies, eight have been positively identified as that of Indian Army soldiers. As many as 22 soldiers were missing since the intervening night of Oct 3-4 when the devastating flash flood in Teesta swept through north Sikkim.

The army establishment was also adversely affected and some of its camps along the river were washed away. Others were damaged. A vehicle parking area at Burdang near Singtam was swept by the flood in which 23 soldiers and 39 vehicles that were taking an overnight transit halt were either submerged in silt or swept away.

With silt and mud measuring up to 30-40 feet burying the vehicles, a massive search and rescue operation was launched by all the forces for the missing soldiers. A day later one of them was rescued by villagers from an area 18 km downstream of Burdang. The person is now stable and under medical care.

The search operation for the remaining 14 soldiers continues. 15 vehicles out of the total 39 missing have been recovered.

“Approximately 1,500 tourists are assessed to be stranded in the areas of Lachung and Lachen valleys in North Sikkim. The Indian Army along with the local administration has been extending assistance to the stranded tourists and locals by providing food, medical aid and telephone connectivity through satellite terminals,” officials said.

The National Highway 10, the lifeline of Sikkim connecting Gangtok to Siliguri, has been rendered unusable due to heavy damages to the road surface and washing off a number of bridges across the Teesta river.

Alternate routes to Gangtok are available via east Sikkim and routes to west and south Sikkim are also available. But all of them take longer. In north Sikkim, roads beyond Mangan are currently cut off. The opening and widening of the road stretch between Rangpo and Singtam is under progress.

Lt Gen RP Kalita, GOC, Eastern Command along with Lt Gen VPS Kaushik, GOC 33 Corps and other officials undertook an aerial survey on Friday to assess the extent of damage. The director general of the Border Roads Organisation along with Indian Army engineers, National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and state officials are assessing the damage and carrying out surveys for restoring the road connectivity.

Efforts are also on to connect Chungthang with a foot bridge. Currently, helicopters of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force carry out emergency supply and evacuation sorties, but inclement weather and incessant rains have hindered the operations.