Sikkim flash floods: Indian Army starts rescuing 1700 stranded tourists

As soon as the weather improved after 6 days, the rescue work started with the Mi 17 helicopter. The Indian and foreign tourists are overwhelmed by the way the Indian Army stood by them all through the calamity.

Jalpaiguri (West Bengal): The Indian Army's Trishakti Corps on Monday provided assistance to 1700 tourists, including 63 foreigners, who were stranded due to devastating flash floods in North Sikkim.

As soon as the weather improved after 6 days, the rescue work started with the Mi 17 helicopter. The Indian and foreign tourists are overwhelmed by the way the Indian Army stood by them all through the calamity. The Army has started rescuing tourists stuck in Lachen since Monday morning. Tourists were rescued by helicopter from Lachen and brought to Mangan's Ringhim helipad.

Attempts were made by the Sikkim government to rescue the stranded tourists but it was not possible due to unfavourable weather conditions. Helicopter services are yet to be normalised due to inclement weather. Meanwhile, a group of NDRF jawans reached Chungthang in Sikkim on foot. .Along with the Army, the NDRF personnel will also lend a helping hand in rescuing the stranded tourists.

NDRF Deputy Commandant Vivek Kumar said, "We will bring the tourists from Mangan by air. But the road condition up to Mangan is not good. One has to walk to the Mangan helipad. From there the tourists will be dropped at the Bagdogra Air Force helipad. A team has reached Chungthang on foot. Another team has already left for Chungthang."

Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Rawat, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Defence in Guwahati, said that the Indian Army's Trishakti Corps soldiers are already providing all kinds of assistance to 1,700 tourists stranded in Lachen, Lachung, Changu and Chungthang areas of North Sikkim. Apart from food and medical assistance, the tourists are assisted in contacting their families.

Due to adverse weather conditions in the affected areas of Sikkim, the Indian Army is having immense trouble evacuating the tourists. Until the tourists are rescued and brought to the plains, the army has made all arrangements to keep them safe. Troops of the Trishakti Corps are also searching for the missing soldiers.

The flash floods in the early hours of October 4 affected as many as 41,870 people in four districts of the Himalayan State, with Mangan bearing the brunt of the calamity as a population of around 30,000 were hit by the disaster. The other three affected districts are Gangtok, Pakyang and Namchi.