Death toll in flash floods that hit north eastern Indian state of Sikkim rose on Friday to 25 as search for 143 others missing people in the floods continues.
The Press Trust of India said quoting Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority that 25 people have died so far and 143 have gone missing in flash flood which swept through Sikkim's Teesta river. So far 2,413 people have been rescued and shifted to shelters.
The army and National Disaster Response Force recovered bodies of 15 people including six army personnel from Pakyong district while six bodies were recovered from Gangtok district and four from Mangan district.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said that search for the missing people are on in Sikkim and neighboring West Bengal through which the Teesta river is flowing. He added that there was massive loss of properties and he talked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, President Droupadi Murmu and other ministers.
"There have been damages worth thousands of crores of rupees. We cannot give exact details about damages, it will be revealed once a committee is formed and it completes its analysis. Our first priority is to save those who are stranded and provide them immediate relief," he said.
Cloudburst and torrential rain on Thursday resulted in overflow of Teesta River in Lachen Valley and resulted in flooding mainly in the districts of Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
