18 confirmed deaths from flash flood in Teesta, 98 still missing

Roads important for defence are closed in north Sikkim as rescue teams still try to reach Chungthang 

Sujal Pradhan, EOI, MANGAN, OCTOBER 5, 2023 : The main arterial; road connecting Gangtok to Lachen- Lachung and other parts of north Sikkim under the Mangan district has been closed. The road is strategically important as the whole defense supply relies on this highway only. Roads and bridges in different places have been damaged, starting from Naga Toong GPU. Vehicles cannot ply from this very point. 

In the GPU, 24 houses have been damaged, informed Incident Commander, Kailash Thapa who is also BDO Mangan. 

Of these, 20 houses have been damaged and may collapse at any time and more than 100 people have been shifted to relief camps at Naga ground. The Incident Commander informed on Thursday that in the Mangan - Sankalang area three people had died who were employees under Border Road Organizations and residing in a temporary hut on the roadside. And one local had also died in the same area. 

From the same area, 26 families numbering 72 people had been shifted to ITI Chadey relief camp. In the same Wong village all children and lactating women had been evacuated safely to ITI Chadey Mangan relief camp as they needed special attention. said Sonam Laden Lachungpa, Child Development Project Officer. 

A rescue team will now try to reach Chungthang on Friday morning to ascertain the damage at Chungthang, badly hit by the flash flood and the collapse of the dam on Teesta. Tourists are also stranded there and army personnel stationed there are executing the rescue work. 

Since the road is blocked the team is trying to find alternatives by walking and transhipping. Till now as many as 18 confirmed deaths have been reported from Sikkim and 98 are still missing. 

There may be many more missing people going unreported. Places like Chungthang and the surrounding area are yet to be explored by rescue team.