Click to play videoNew Delhi/Bagdogra: Even as the death toll due to Sunday evening's earthquake in Sikkim rose to 42, National Highway 31A linking Sikkim capital Gangtok to Bagdogra in West Bengal has been opened for one-way traffic by a team of Army and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel.
Rescue and relief teams including those belonging to the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), which were stranded after landslides caused by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake blocked the highway, have started to move towards Sikkim. Two MI-17 helicopters have drop off NDRF teams at Lachung and Mangben.
The rescue and relief teams had been holed up in Bagdogra in West Bengal due to landslides on the highway. But helicopters are still not able to take off from either Bagdogra or Siliguri due to bad weather.
However, North Sikkim, the epicentre of the quake, is still cut off from rest of the country and casualties are expected to rise once relief teams reach the area. Power has been restored to Gangtok, but North Sikkim is still without power.
All the roads linking smaller towns and villages of North Sikkim have been blocked due to landslides at more than 25 locations, making it very difficult for the rescue operations to reach. Army teams are trying to clear the roads.
The Army has deployed 105 columns (5,000 troops) in relief and rescue operation and provided shelter to over 1,500 quake-hit people. Several cookhouses are also being managed by Army teams to provide food to the people. One thousand relief camps for civilians in different parts of Sikkim have also been opened.
Four ALH and five Cheetah helicopters are on standby at the Sukna military station while one MI-17 helicopter is stationed at Bagdogra for distribution of food packets.
One Junior Engineer of the BRO has been reportedly killed during the rescue operation. Two C-130J Super Hercules, one IL-76 and one AVRO aircraft have been sent from the Hindon and Palam Air Force bases with NDRF personnel, sniffer dogs, search and rescue teams and medical personnel. The C-130J Super Hercules can land on unprepared runways even in the dark and will help in relief and rescue operations in the North Sikkim region.
Medical teams from Delhi, Bihar and West Bengal have also been sent to the quake-hit regions on Sikkim.
Bihar has also sent a team of 160 NDRF personnel while Border Security Force rescue team and dog squad have also been sent. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel have rescued 400 villagers including 22 tourists so far. They have been kept at the Pegong camp.
At least 35 people have lost their lives and over 100 injured after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sikkim on Sunday evening. Authorities fear the toll could rise further. The exact extent of damages is yet to be assessed as relief and rescue is yet to reach affected areas.
Out of the 42 dead, 35 are from Sikkim, two from Bihar and five in West Bengal. Ten of those killed in Sikkim have been identified as workers of the Teesta Urja Hydroelectric in North Sikkim.
Two Army soldiers and one Junior Engineer of the BRO have also been killed. Army vehicles including a bus that went missing have been found and all personnel are safe.
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