Guwahati: A day after seven tourists, including a six-year-old, were killed in Sikkim when an avalanche hit a road teeming with visitors on their way to Nathu La — a popular mountain pass located at a height of 14,000 feet— the search and rescue operations resumed around 8am Wednesday after being halted at 6pm Tuesday due to “inclement weather”.
The icefall took place around 11.10 am in an area called Mile 14 on the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg Road on National Highway 310, East Sikkim. The state police had issued tourist permits till ‘15 Mile’ area at a height of about 10,000 feet.
Around five to six vehicles carrying nearly 30 tourists came under the snow. Some were fully buried and died on the spot, while many others sustained critical injuries.
By Tuesday evening, the remaining 19 had been rescued and all tourists were accounted for, District Collector of Gangtok, Tushar Gajanan Nikhare, told ThePrint.
Nikhare said: “A total of 19 people have been rescued and 12 of them are being treated at STNM Hospital. We have called off the rescue operations and all tourist vehicles and tourists have been accounted for. A control room has been set up at Sadar police station. There’s no missing person report, as of now.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on Tuesday evening to those “who have lost their loved ones” in the avalanche.
Distressed by the avalanche in Sikkim. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I hope the injured recover soon. Rescue ops are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to those affected: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 4, 2023
Meanwhile, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Tuesday evening, visited the STNM Hospital to meet the injured and assured all possible support, including treatment.
According to Nikhare, six-year-old Rebya Singh and her father, Bal Singh (32), from Uttar Pradesh were among the deceased tourists.
The other victims included three tourists from Nepal — Shiva Prasad Lamichaney and Ashika Dhakal (22) from Chitwan and Munah Shah Shrestha (29) from Rupandi. They were part of a group of 65 tourists from Nepal visiting Sikkim. Two others, Sourav Roy Choudhary (28) and Pritam Matiy (38) hailed from West Bengal.
Thirteen of those injured who belong to Kolkata, Siliguri, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Nepal, have been admitted to STNM hospital.
A multi-agency search operation with personnel from the Army, the BRO, teams from the State Disaster Management and police was mounted in the rescue.
Defence PRO, Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, said: “A lady was found alive after being buried in snow for over an hour. She has been sent to the STNM hospital.”
Six others were rescued from a deep valley under challenging weather conditions. They were shifted to nearby medical facilities of the Indian Army, Rawat said.
Another 350 tourists and 80 vehicles were stranded in snow after the incident. They could move once the road was cleared by authorities.
The article has been updated with latest developments.
Also read: Deadly avalanches in Indian Himalayas