Sikkim landslides: 3 soldiers killed. 1678 tourists evacuated

In Sikkim, a landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall, struck an Indian Army military camp in Chhaten, Lachen district, prompting immediate rescue operations by the Army on Sunday. The bodies of three personnel — Havaldar Lakhwinder Singh, Lance Naik Munish Thakur, and Porter Abhishek Lakhada — have been recovered so far, while four individuals have been rescued with minor injuries. “At 7 pm (on June 1), a catastrophic landslide… struck the military camp at Chhaten. Rescue operations were launched immediately,” said CPRO Defence Himanshu Tiwari in a statement. He said that rescue teams are working round the clock, despite the challenging weather and terrain, to locate six missing personnel.
Meanwhile, 1678 tourists evacuated safely from Lachung. The first batch, comprising 18 tourist vehicles, successfully reached Phidang in Lower Dzongu on Monday. Tourists were stranded following a sudden cloudburst and incessant heavy rains on the 29th of last month, which wreaked havoc in North Sikkim. However, efforts are still on to evacuate around 150 stranded tourists at Lachen inthe  Mangan district. There are reports of multiple landslides in that area, and the administration is exploring all possible options to evacuate them.
Widespread landslides, formation breaches, and bridge collapses rendered vital stretches like Dikchu-Sanklang-Shipgyer, Chungthang-Lachen-Zeema, and Chungthang-Lachung roads inaccessible. Two crucial Bailey bridges on the Lachen axis at Minsithang and Zeema were also washed away, cutting off Lachen from both north and south. Efforts to restore road connectivity to Lachen are going on.