23 soldiers missing after cloudburst in Sikkim

Flash floods have been attacking Sikkim again and again this year and have caused serious damage in the area. Apart from damaging vehicles and destroying other properties, the flash floods have caused something even more grave this time.

The flash flood happened in the Teesta River in Lachen Valley due to a sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, according to the Trishakti Cops of the Eastern Command. The shocking news is a group of  23 Indian Army soldiers have been missing in this flood and they have not been traced till now! Chungthang Dam released water that caused a sudden increase in water level up to almost 15-20 feet high downstream and for this, the Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam were affected. The Singhtam Foot Bridge had collapsed because of the overflowing river and that has also caused serious damage to many Army establishments along the Lachen Valley.

According to reports, the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood happened in Lhonak Lake and was powered by heavy rain. That caused a huge amount of water to flow into Teesta. As Sikkim is still under red alert with a heavy rainfall warning, the flood situation in the state is likely to worsen.

The search is still on!

The news has been Confirmed by the Defence PRO of Guwahati and according to the team, a search party is still going on.

A statement by the Army’s Eastern Command has said “Release of water from the Chungthang dam led to a sudden increase in water level up to 15-20 feet high downstream. This has led to Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam getting affected. 23 personnel have been reported missing and some vehicles are reported submerged under the slush. Search operations are underway,”