Gangtok, Oct 8: At least 60 people have died and 80 remain missing in the devastating flash floods in Sikkim, which was triggered by glacial burst on the South Lhonak lake on Wednesday morning.

According to official, 30 dead bodies have been found in past five days in the Teesta river bed in neighbouring Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.

“Due to the disaster 1320 houses were severely damaged and 2563 people are rescued, 26 with grievous injury were hospitalized. 13 bridges downstream to the Teesta-V hydropower station were submerged or washed out, disrupting communication,” said an official.

More than 3,000 tourists who were stranded in Lachen and Lachung in Mangan district of Sikkim after flash floods cut off all road communications are safe.

The Indian Air Force made multiple attempts to carry out rescue and relief operations by Mi-17 helicopters but was unable to fly from Bagdogra as well as Chaten due to inclement weather, low-lying cloud cover, and low visibility conditions in the Lachen and Lachung valley in Sikkim.

The roads to Lachen and Lachung are damaged, but an alternative route to Chungthang via Dzongu is in the process of being opened for the rescue teams to move forward.

The IMD has forecast the sky conditions in Lachen and Lachung for the next five days to remain generally cloudy to overcast sky, so airlifting of over 3000 stranded tourist has become a challenge.

All bridges downstream of the Teesta-V hydropower station have been submerged or washed out, disrupting communication to North Sikkim.

NDRF teams along with state agencies are busy with rescue operations in areas such as Singtam, Bardang, and Rangpo. However, rescue teams have not been able to reach the upper reaches of North Sikkim, Chungthang, Lachen, and Lachung.

Also Read: Sikkim Minister Samdup Lepcha’s daring Teesta River crossing on zip-line goes viral

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