Gangtok:

Fourteen people have been killed and 102 others, including 22 soldiers, are missing after flash floods hit Sikkim early on Wednesday. According to figures released by the state government, 26 people have been injured so far and over 2,000 evacuated so far. Eleven bridges have been washed away and a population of over 22,000 has been affected, the state government has said.

Led by the Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), multiple agencies are carrying out search operations in the affected areas. The Indian Air Force is also on standby. Visuals shared by people on social media capture the scale of the devastation in the Northeastern state.

Pakyong in east Sikkim, in the foothills of the Himalayas, has reported the most deaths – seven. As many as 59 people are missing in the district; these include the 23 Army personnel.

Over 3,000 tourists are feared stranded in the different parts of the state, a popular holiday destination.

Explaining what led to the disaster, Sikkim Chief Secretary VB Pathak has said a cloudburst over Lhonak lake in northwest Sikkim raised water levels. The lake overflowed and water gushed towards the Teesta river, which flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh.

“Soon different parts of the Teesta basin reported a rise in water, with particularly alarming levels in Chungthang where the Teesta Stage 3 dam was breached,” he said.

With roads washed away and bridges damaged, state officials fear shortage of food supplies. The Army is assembling Bailey bridges — portable, prefabricated bridges — to restore connectivity to the affected areas.

As Teesta flows downstream from Sikkim to Bengal, sludge has entered homes near the state border. The NDTV visited Teesta Bazaar area in Bengal’s Kalimpong district, where the swollen river has deposited sludge in homes and damaged trees in its course. In some homes, sludge had filled up almost an entire floor. Many homes closer to the bank have been washed away.