23 Army jawans missing in Sikkim flash flood; 3 bodies recovered from Teesta Barrage in Bengal
Twenty-three Army jawans were reported missing early today morning after a flash flood, due to a cloudburst over South Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, swept through the Teesta River in Lachen Valley in Sikkim. The Defence public relations officer (PRO) Guwahati informed about the incident on X.
Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam were swept away by the raging floodwaters, causing the personnel to go missing. Search operations are underway.
“Three bodies have been recovered from Teesta Barrage. They are yet to be identified,” Bengal Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi told news agency ANI.
The release of water from the Chungthang dam further exacerbated the situation, causing the water level to rise up to 15-20 feet high downstream.
In Sikkim, the flash flood also swept away Indreni Bridge in Singtam town, some 30 kilometres from Gangtok, and a connecting bridge of the Balutar hamlet. Additionally the small town of Chungthang in northern Sikkim is now completely cut off from the rest of the region due to the snapping of the bridge that connects it to Mangan.
The main highway linking Sikkim to Bengal state was snapped and Gangtok was totally cut off by road, according to army spokesperson Anjan Basumatary.
