IAF BEGINS OPERATIONS TO RESCUE STRANDED TOURISTS, DEATH TOLL ACROSS STATE NOW 34

Thirty-four bodies-including those of 10 army jawans have been recovered so far from the slush and debris of the flash flood in Teesta river that devastated Sikkim, while the search continued for the over 105 people who are still missing, officials said on Monday. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun rescue and relief operations in the Himalayan state, airlifting the first batch of stranded tourists from Lachen to Mangan in North Sikkim.

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Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang held a review meeting with Chief Secretary VB Pathak, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande, and other officials for coordinated relief and rescue operations along with armed forces. Apart from the 34 fatalities reported in Sikkim, the Jalpaiguri district administration in adjoining northern West Bengal said that 40 bodies have been fished out from downstream Teesta. However, officials have issued warnings that there might be some duplication in the toll reported by the two states.