Sikkim: At least 14 people have died and 102 others, including 22 army personnel, have been missing after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered flash floods in the Teesta River basin on Wednesday. Also, over 20,000 people have been affected due to the calamity.
Officials also told PTI that one of the 23 army men who had gone missing in the morning was rescued later.
As many as 3,000 tourists from various parts of the country were reported to be stranded in different parts of the state, PTI quoted Sikkim Chief Secretary VB Pathak as saying.
Following the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang to take stock of the situation in the state and assured him of all possible support. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also prayed for the well-being of the missing army personnel.
The Indian Army has started three helplines for families of missing people in Sikkim including its own soldiers. The numbers are given below:
Army Helpline No for North Sikkim – 8750887741
Army Helpline for East Sikkim – 8756991895
Army Helpline for missing soldiers – 7588302011
Comments are closed.