Sikkim quake: Narrow escape for two foreign engineers
PTI | 08:09 PM,Sep 22,2011The army officials said that 12 foreigners, including two tourists, were rescued and airlifted from quake-hit Chungthang to Safo in North Sikkim and later to the state capital today."Safo is a relatively safer place in the higher reaches where many of the rescued persons have been sheltered," they said.Ten technicians and engineers, mainly from South Africa and Brazil, (which included Derek and Willis) were working for the Teesta Urja project.Besides, two Norwegian tourists as also five workers of M G Construction limited, working for the project, were also airlifted to Safo and later to Gangtok."All of them will be later sent to Kolkata," army officials said.They said that for the first time today, the army dropped paratroopers in different inaccessible areas like Sakyong, Pingong, Bay and Sebu villages to physically reach relief materials to the quake victims."The paratroopers reached ration and relief to the victims in these villages," they said.Meanwhile, a National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) team today trekked to Bay village, one of the worst-hit areas in North Sikkim, the officials said."The NDRF rescuers have ultimately accessed the Bay village which remained cut off along with many adjacent villages since Sunday night," they said.However, army engineering regiment officials said that it would take a fairly long time to clear the debris of the state highway from Singtam to Mangan and then from Chungthang to Lachung and Lachen upto India-Tibet border hit by recurring landslides.
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.
Disclaimer: Network18 Media & Investments Limited is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, an offer of its equity shares on rights basis and has filed a Draft Letter of Offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The Draft Letter of Offer is available on the website of SEBI at