19 Army personnel among 30 casualties in Sikkim floods

Gangtok: Nineteen Indian Army personnel were among the 30 people confirmed dead in Sikkim's natural disaster, the Defence Ministry and state government said on Sunday.

The banks of the glacier-fed Lhonak Lake broke open in north Sikkim and inundated the mighty Teesta River basin, followed by a cloudburst that accentuated te tragedy by triggering a flash flood on October 4, leading to much death and destruction.

A Sikkim government communique said among the 30 dead, 19 were Army personnel.

Defence Ministry sources said at least 23 Army personnel had been missing after the disaster struck in the early hours of October 4. One of the soldiers was rescued alive and admitted to a hospital the same day.

The casualties of the uniformed people were from the Pakyong district in East Sikkim, 27 kms down from Gangtok, where the Army has its camps. (UNI)