At least 50 people have died and 142 persons remain missing in the devastating flash floods in Sikkim, which was triggered by cloud burst on the South Lhonak lake on Wednesday morning.
According to reports, 27 dead bodies were found in the Teesta river bed in neighbouring West Bengal in the past three days. “Seven of those dead bodies have been identified. Most of them are not identified yet. 142 persons are still missing,” said an official source.
More than 3,000 tourists stranded in different part of Sikkim after flash flood hit the state and cut off all road communications are safe officials said, on Saturday.
The Indian Air Force made multiple attempts to carry out rescue and relief operations by Mi-17 helicopters but was unable to fly due to the inclement weather, low-lying cloud cover and low visibility conditions in the Lachen and Lachung valley, they said.
A horrific cloudburst in the early hours of Wednesday triggered a flash flood which affected over 25,000 people, damaged more than 1,200 houses and washed away 13 bridges.
The state government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the deceased and an immediate relief of Rs 2,000 each for all those taking shelter in the camps.
