At least 11 people died and 120 were missing, including 22 soldiers, in flash floods in the northern Indian state of Sikkim, authorities reported Thursday.
“Until yesterday [quarta-feira à noite]”120 people disappeared and 11 died,” the director of that state’s Disaster Management Authority, Prabhakar Rai, told the EFE news agency.
Among the 120 missing are 22 soldiers, trapped due to rising water levels in the Teesta River near the town of Singtam. The Indian Army said on Wednesday that it had rescued one of the missing soldiers, and he is in stable condition.
Rai explained that rescue efforts were hampered by poor weather conditions, so the authorities’ response was limited and state teams could not be deployed.
“Rescue operations are being carried out locally because state teams cannot reach these areas,” he explained, regretting that heavy rains prevent the dispatch of military helicopters.
The Mangan district is completely isolated and the authorities have been unable to obtain information about the situation. “There are no road communications or telecommunications,” she added.
In February 2021, an avalanche of water and mud caused by a glacier burst left at least 45 dead and around 160 missing in the Chamoli district of the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
Every year, heavy rains cause significant human and material losses in South Asian countries, especially during the monsoon period between May and September.
Source: TSF
