Sikkim flood toll hits 82 amid slush and debris

At least 140 people are still missing and the toll is expected to rise further, warned officials

Eighty-two people have been confirmed dead in the Sikkim flash floods, with 32 bodies recovered from the hill state, 46 from West Bengal, and four in neighbouring Bangladesh, officials confirmed on Sunday evening, as the toll from the disaster skyrocketed amid protracted and arduous relief operations that involved rescuers combing through river-beds and debris caked in layers of silt.

Vehicles buried in the sand along the Teesta river in Rongpo in east Sikkim on Sunday. (AP)

At least 140 people are still missing and the toll is expected to rise further, warned officials, explaining that the path of the Teesta river — which flows from Sikkim to West Bengal and eventually enters Bangladesh — meant that several bodies are likely to have been washed several hundreds of kilometres downstream.

Inclement weather, however, hampered search operations in a state that has largely been cut off from the rest of the country, as the flash floods washed away parts of the vital NH-10. Efforts within the state were also hamstrung by the widespread destruction of infrastructure, leaving northern Sikkim hemmed off from the south, with rescue teams using choppers to evacuate stranded people.

Bikash Basnet, press secretary to Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang, said, “Around 140 people are still missing.”

In West Bengal, the bodies were recovered from the Teesta river and its tributaries in Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Cooch Behar districts. Only 10 of those bodies were identified, officials said.

“Four bodies were recovered from Bangladesh territory,” said Dyutiman Bhattacharya, superintendent of police of Cooch Behar in West Bengal.

Bangladesh border agencies informed India’s Border Security Force (BSF) that they are keeping a watch on the river.

The floods occurred in the early hours of Wednesday when a glacial lake at South Lhonak burst following torrential rain, pushing water through the Teesta, which in turn swelled along its path and washed away homes, roads, bridges, while also cleaving a crucial 1,200MW dam that generated power for hundreds of towns and villages.

The overflowing river, which barrelled downstream, bathed vast swathes of the state in silt, sludge and mud, often several metres deep in some parts, burying bodies and debris, and severely impairing rescue efforts.

So far, 2,563 people have been rescued from across the state, said the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA).

Special radars, drones and Army dogs have been pressed into action to bolster the search operations, officials said.

So far, 21 bodies have been recovered in Pakyong, six in Gangtok, four in Mangan and two in Namchi, they said.

Engineers from the Sikkim government and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) on Saturday also began carving out alternative routes to enter remote areas and rescue marooned residents and tourists.

Around 3,000 tourists are still stranded in Lachen and Lachung towns, popular destinations in Mangan district, said officials.

Lachen, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state, remained largely cut off till Sunday, with roads and bridges to its south and north destroyed.

Norgay Lachungpa, president of the Travel Agents’ Association of Sikkim (TAAS) said, “According to our estimates, around 500 tourists are stranded at Lachen.”

He added that 876 Indian tourists, 62 foreigners and 156 to 170 drivers are stranded in Lachung.

The Army said it provided food and medicines for these people.

“We are waiting for the weather to get better so that evacuation can start at Lachung,” said Lachungpa.

The army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the state government are also working round-the-clock to build a temporary bridge at Chungthang, one of the worst-hit parts of the state, officials said.

Meanwhile, eight of the 22 army personnel who went missing after the flash floods hit the state on Wednesday have so far been confirmed dead, while 14 are still missing.