Sikkim flood toll mounts to 26; 142 still missing

New Delhi, October 6

Teams of the Army and the NDRF have recovered 26 bodies, including seven of Army men, from the slush and debris of the flashfloods which swept through Sikkim’s Teesta river, officials said on Friday.

The death toll is feared to rise further as 142 persons, including soldiers, are still missing.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said the Himalayan state had incurred losses worth thousands of crores of rupees in the flashfloods.

The Centre has assured the Sikkim Government of all possible help and has set up an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT). A report of the IMCT will form the basis of additional central assistance from the NDRF.

Home Minister Amit Shah today approved the release of both instalments of the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund to Sikkim, amounting to Rs 44.80 crore, in advance for 2023-24 to help the state in providing relief to the affected people.

Meanwhile, the Army is fearing the worst for its jawans missing since Wednesday. Some bodies have been recovered. The process of identifying them through DNA sampling is on. The search for the missing soldiers continues with focus on the downstream areas of the Teesta barrage in Siliguri, West Bengal. Additional resources in terms of teams of tracker dogs and special radars have been pressed into service to assist in the search operations.