Gangtok, Oct 6: The Indian Army brought special mountain rescuers, tracker dogs, and portable radar to track their missing men and machines in a flash flood in Sikkim.
The search for the 16 Army men continues. Meanwhile, the Indian Army is providing assistance in terms of food and medical facilities and extending communication facilities to civilians and tourists stranded in North Sikkim.
“The search for the missing Indian Army soldiers continues with the search focusing downstream in areas of Teesta Barrage. At the site of the incident in Burdang, near Singtam, the army vehicles are being dug out and stores are being recovered. Additional resources in terms of teams of TMR (Tiranga Mountain Rescue), tracker dogs, and special radars have been in, to assist in the search operations,” an Army official stated.
Meanwhile, Troops of TriShakti Corps Indian Army have been able to take account of 1471 tourists present the areas of Lachen/Chatten, Lachung and Chungthang. With the weather improving on October 6, there may be a window of opportunity for evacuation of stranded tourists by Helicopters. The same is being planned jointly by the State Government, Indian Army and Indian Air Force.
A survey is being carried out by all agencies to assess the damage and plan the restoration of road connectivity.
The road link between Singtam and Burdang has been restored with the clearing of a single lane for vehicular traffic.
According to reports, six army men are dead and 103 people are still missing, including 16 army men.
“About 2500 people have been evacuated so far. Nearly 3000 tourists were still stranded in Sikkim, and about 6,000 people have been moved to relief camps,” said an official source.
In Mangan district, 4 people died and 17 people were reported missing. Similarly, in Gangtok, there were five deaths and 22 missing.
In Pakyong district, 10 people died, including 6 Army men, and 59 people are still missing.
The Indian Army has been carrying out extensive search and rescue operations to trace the 16 missing soldiers, who have been missing since Wednesday morning following a cloudburst in Sikkim.
Also Read: Sikkim: Govt warns of another glacial lake burst, issues alert
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