New Delhi:

The Army on Saturday said the flash floods in the hinterland of Sikkim are not affecting its operational preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the state and the formations responsible for the border management posture are maintaining a high state of readiness.

While the hinterland of Sikkim has been affected, the operational situation along the LAC in Sikkim continues to be stable, the Army said.

It said approximately 1,500 tourists are assessed to be stranded in the areas of Lachung and Lachen valleys in North Sikkim and efforts are on to rescue them.

The Army suffered damage in the floods as some of its camps along the banks of the Teesta river were swept away.

“The formations responsible for the Border Management Posture are maintaining a high state of readiness and are optimally stocked as per the sustainable operational logistics plan,” it said.

The Army’s assertion came on a day when the bodies of eight soldiers were found. The soldiers were part of a group of 22 Army personnel that went missing following the flash floods which were triggered by a cloudburst.

A cloudburst in South Lhonak lake in North Sikkim on October 4 caused a devastating flood in Sikkim.

“The level of water in the Teesta increased by about 50-60 feet in height which caused calamitous floods downstream,” the Army said, adding it was also affected as some of its camps along the river bank were either damaged or washed away.

“A vehicle parking area at Burdang near Singtam was affected by the flash flood and 23 soldiers and 39 vehicles that were taking an overnight transit halt have been submerged in silt or swept away,” the Army said.

“At the site of the incident, silt and mud measuring up to 30-40 feet high have been deposited and most of the vehicles are buried underneath,” it said.

A massive search and rescue operation was immediately launched by the Indian Army, Border Roads Organisation, along with NDRF, state disaster relief teams, para military forces and civil administration.

“The Indian Army along with all agencies and Civil Administration continue their relentless search and rescue operations, while at the same time focusing on resuscitation of communication and other infrastructure in a well-coordinated manner,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army said it received reports of some ammunition, explosives and stores of the force being swept away from various camps and that 15 vehicles out of 39 that were missing have been recovered.

“Some ammunition, explosives and stores of the Indian Army from various camps swept away have been reported from various places along the downstream river banks,” it said.

“The Indian Army has issued advisories through civil administration and deployed look out teams along with state police to warn the locals for reporting sighting of such items. Ammunition experts have been deployed to destroy the explosives recovered in a controlled manner,” it said.

The Army said the national highway 10 (NH 10), the lifeline of Sikkim, has been rendered “unusable” due to damage to the road surface and many bridges across the Teesta river were damaged.

“Alternate routes to Gangtok are available through East Sikkim and routes to West and South Sikkim are also available. However, in North Sikkim, roads beyond Mangan are currently cut off,” it said.

Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen RP Kalita along with Lt Gen VPS Kaushik, General-Officer Commanding of the Trishakti Corps, undertook an aerial survey on Friday to assess the extent of damage and plan for the relief efforts.

According to estimates by the state government, a total of 142 people were missing, out of which 26 bodies have been recovered so far, the Army said. It said the exact assessment of the damage is yet to be corroborated due to the inclement weather and incessant rains.

Out of the 26 bodies, eight have been positively identified as that of Indian Army soldiers, the Army said.

It said approximately 1,500 tourists are assessed to be stranded in the areas of Lachung and Lachen valleys in North Sikkim.

“The Indian Army along with the local administration has been extending assistance to the stranded tourists and locals by providing food, medical aid and telephone connectivity through satellite terminals,” it said.

Teams have collected data of all the tourists staying in various hotels and some of them have been accommodated in Army camps, it said.

Special helplines have been set up at Indian Army’s Trishakti Corps headquarter and family members back home of all the stranded tourists have been informed about their well-being.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:
At least 53 people, including seven soldiers, have died in the Sikkim flash floods, with 27 more dead bodies found in the Teesta river bed in neighbouring West Bengal over the last three days. Seven of these bodies have been identified.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

Sikkim:

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has blamed “inferior construction” by the previous state government for the destruction of the Chungthang Dam – a 1200 MW hydroelectric project washed away Wednesday in flash floods triggered by a glacial lake outburst over South Lhonak Lake. Mr Tamang told NDTV “sub-standard” work by the earlier Sikkim Democratic Front government, which was in power for over 24 years, is to blame for a tragedy that has claimed 19 lives so far.

“Dam is fully damaged… washed out. Disaster in the lower belt is because of this. Yes… there was a cloudburst and the Lhonak Lake burst… but, because of inferior and sub-standard construction by previous government, the dam broke and even more floods hit Lower Sikkim with violence,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said “major damage” had been reported from across the state.

“Major damage in areas like the Chunthang Dam but do not know full extent because areas in Lower Sikkim are still cut-off. Roads have been washed out, bridges destroyed. 13 bridges over Teesta have been washed away,” Mr Tamang explained.

READ |A Decade Before Sikkim Flash Floods, There Were Warnings

He said his government is working with the centre to airlift relief and rescue teams but bad weather had hampered operations on Thursday. “Today weather has improved, so we will step up efforts.”

“First priority are 3,000 stranded tourists,” Mr Tamang said, “We will rescue them first.”

READ |19 Dead, 3,000 Stranded In Sikkim, Fresh Alert Issued: 10 Points

On rebuilding efforts, the Chief Minister said, “We will set up a team of technical experts and proceed based on their inputs. But, I have to tell you, this is a major disaster. It is major.”

Mr Tamang said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and that they had offered all possible support. Shortly after the disaster the Prime Minister posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Spoke to Sikkim CM… Assured all possible support… pray for safety and well-being of all those affected.”

At least 19 people, including seven soldiers, died in the floods that ravaged Sikkim early Wednesday, sweeping away farms and villages. More than 100 people, including 15 Army personnel, are still missing. So far around 2,500 people have been evacuated and nearly 6,000 shifted to relief camps.

READ | ISRO’s Satellite Images Show How Sikkim’s Lhonak Lake Burst, Caused Floods

The Sikkim government has warned of another potential glacial lake outburst; Shako Cho Lake near Lachen is at risk and authorities have begun evacuating residents from surrounding areas.

READ |Mortar Shell Carried By Floodwaters Explodes In Bengal’s Jalpaiguri, 2 Dead

The government has also warned of “stray explosions” after the floods hit an Army ammunitions depot. Two people have already died after they were hit by explosives that were washed away.

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New Delhi:
At least 19 people, including six soldiers, have died in the Sikkim flash floods, and 103 people, including 16 soldiers, remain missing. Over 3,000 tourists are stranded, 2,500 people have been evacuated and 6,000 have been moved to relief camp.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

New Delhi:

Nearly 65 per cent of Sikkim’s Lhonak Lake – around 105 hectares – has been drained after a cloudburst forced the water body to overflow and trigger flash floods in the Teesta River.

Temporal satellite images (referring to before-and-after) released Wednesday evening by space agency ISRO show dramatic changes in the volume of water in the lake; photos taken on September 17 and September 28 show the bullet-shaped lake holding 162.7 and 167.4 hectares, respectively.

An image taken at 6 AM Wednesday morning – after the cloudburst and flash flood wreaked havoc in the state, washing away large parts of a hydroelectric project and leaving 49 people missing – shows the lake reduced by more than half and with only an estimated 60.3 hectares of water in it.

READ | Cloudburst In Sikkim Triggers Flash Floods, Soldiers Among Missing

“Temporal changes in the lake area – as on September 17, September 28, and October 4. It is observed the lake is burst and about 105 hectares has been drained out, which might have created a flash flood downstream… will continue monitoring the lake using the satellite data,” ISRO said.

The floods have killed at least eight people, news agency PTI said citing unnamed officials who also said three bodies were found hundreds of kilometres downstream in north Bengal. The other five were found in the state’s Golitar and Singtam areas, Gangtok district officer Mahendra Chettri said.

23 soldiers are among those missing. The Army and local officials have launched a joint rescue op.

45 people have been rescued, of whom 18 have suffered injuries, PTI reported.

There was heavy rainfall in Sikkim overnight; the weather department said the northern part of the state, where the lake is, received nearly 50 mm from Sunday – 48 per cent more than normal.

READ | Parts Of Teesta River Dam Washed Away After Cloudburst In Sikkim

Other parts of the state received even more rain; eastern areas saw 315 per cent unseasonal rainfall while South Sikkim got a massive 943 per cent more. West Sikkim got 50 per cent extra rain.

The cloudburst over Lhonak Lake not only caused that to overflow but also pushed up water levels in the Teesta, which flows through Sikkim and Bengal before entering Bangladesh.

The overflowing Teesta also swept away parts of a dam at Chungthang, which is the state’s largest hydropower project. The Army said the level of water flowing through the dam led to a sudden increase of 15-20 feet downstream.

Visuals also showed catastrophic floods in North Sikkim’s Mangan district.

A steel bridge at Singtam, which is 30 km from Gangtok, was completely destroyed.

Sections of National Highway 10 were washed away and several other roads were damaged, making access to Gangtok, Pakyong, Namchi, Gyalshing, Soreng and Mangan districts extremely difficult.

Residents in low-lying areas of Chungthang and Singtam have been evacuated.

“Nobody has been injured but there is significant damage to public property. Relief operations are on,” Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said during a visit to affected areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken to the Chief Minister Tamang and assured him of support.