Sikkim Floods: 23 Army Jawans Missing | Sikkim | Army | Cloudburst | Flash Flood |

"A tragic news coming in from Sikkim. Twenty-three army personnels went missing on Wednesday morning after flash floods in Lachen Valley of Sikkim. The army vehicles have been submerged in the flash flood. The search operation has been launched. According to reports, the army vehicles were parked at Bardang near Singtam when the flash flood occurred. The water level rose up to 15-20 feet high, washing away several buildings and structures in North Sikkim. A portion of National Highway-10 connecting Sikkim with West Bengal was washed away in the flash flood. A flash flood alert was issued in Sikkim after the cloudburst. Sikkim had received heavy rainfall through the night. A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake caused the Teesta river to overflow and pushed up the water levels of the river. Teesta river has swelled to all time high after heavy rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms lashed the state, leading to massive destruction, such as landslides and flooding. The Teesta river flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh. According to reports, there are speculations of further threat of damages as South Lhonak Lake is on the verge of an outburst which could trigger flash floods. Additionally, there is a heightened risk of the South Lhonak river overflowing. Residents in the low lying areas of Sikkim have been alerted to move towards safer locations. The State Disaster Management Minister Kunga Nima Lepcha, Minister BS Panth and LB Das along with other officials reached the flood affected areas. Rescue operations are underway in the affected areas. The Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has taken stock of the flood situation. During his visit to the affected area, CM stated that nobody has been injured but there are reports of people missing. CM also stated that there is significant damage to the public property.

#sikkim #sikkimflood #flashflood #cloudburst #teestariver #Lhonak #PremSinghTamang #Singtam #disaster #northeast #northeastnews #sikkimcm #armyjawans #jawans #army #jawansmissing #indianarmy #searchoperation #crpf #floodnews #cloudburst #sikkimcloudburst