The death toll in the Sikkim flash floods has risen to 22 on Friday. The deceased include seven Indian Army personnel, reports PTI.
Of the 23 army personnel who had gone missing from Bardang area, the bodies of seven have been recovered from different areas downstream while one army man had been rescued alive earlier and the search for the remaining is continuing both in Sikkim and north Bengal through which Teesta river flows, said Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday.
Of the seven, four Army personnel have been identified. They are Gopal Maddi of Binnaguri military station, Naik Bhavani Singh Chouhan of 64 Brigade, Bengdubi, Naik N G Prasad and Bimal Oraon of Madhubagan in Alipurduar, according to official records.
The bodies were recovered from the Teesta river basin and its tributaries in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts and Siliguri area of Darjeeling district in the northern part of West Bengal, which shares border with the Himalayan state.
A total of 103 people, including the 15 jawans, remained missing after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday triggered the flash flood. The floods caused accumulation of huge quantity of water, which turned towards Chungthang Dam destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate flooding towns and villages.
The flood destroyed 13 bridges in the state, with eight bridges getting washed away in Mangan district alone. Three bridges were destroyed in Gangtok and two in Namchi.
The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin that so far 2,411 people trapped due to the flash floods have been evacuated. It added that altogether 7,644 people displaced by the floods have been sheltered at 26 relief camps in four affected districts.
Authorities on alert over glacial lake outburst
Meanwhile, authorities have received a warning that a second Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) was imminent near Thangu beyond Lachen in Mangan district, following which the Gangtok district administration issued an alert on Thursday evening.
Shako Cho Lake, near Lachen is on the verge of bursting, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from the river belt, sources told The Indian Express.
The Shako Cho glacial lake is located near the village of Thangu. The lake is 1.3 km long and is located 12 km from Thangu.
Indian Army issues advisory
The Indian Army has also issued a statement saying that in light of the light of severe flooding in Sikkim, certain military equipment including firearms and explosives were carried away by the Teesta river. It advised people not to touch them, but inform the nearest police station if the firearms or explosives were spotted.
The statement comes after two people died and six were injured after they tried to touch a mortar floating in the river in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district which was reportedly washed away by the flash floods in the state.
“We urge the public to be vigilant and report any unfamiliar objects, crates, packages, firearms, or any suspicious items seen floating in the water to the nearest police station immediately. Please refrain from handling these items in any manner, as they pose a potential risk of a dangerous explosion,” read the alert issued by the Jalpaiguri District Police and the Indian Army.