Mangan (Sikkim), September 20 (PTI): More than 3,000 people were rescued in quake-hit areas of Sikkim by defence forces which scrambled hard to clear debris of collapsed structures and landslides as the death toll in Sunday’s powerful temblor shot up to 92, including 53 in the Himalayan state.
Of the 53, 36 people died in the districts of North Sikkim, 12 in East Sikkim, four in West Sikkim and one in South Sikkim, a Relief Control Room official said in Gangtok. Reports said Vijay Kumar (52), Junior Engineer, Civil of Junior Reserve Engineering Force, an engineering team under Army died on Sunday in a landslide. The Army personnel hailing from Uttarakhand rushed for the rescue operations, after the earthquake struck Sikkim.
The National Highway 31-A from Mangan to Gangtok, 65 km from here, was closed due to blockades caused by heavy landslides but an alternative road was reopened to help rescue teams reach the worst-affected areas. A PTI correspondent who went around some of the quake-hit areas in and around Mangan found people in a state of shock, many afraid to enter their houses which have either developed cracks, tilted perilously or partially collapsed.
The toll in Sunday’s 6.8 magnitude strong earthquake has mounted to 92. Besides 53 in Sikkim, the toll has gone up to 12 in West Bengal, nine in Bihar and 11 in Nepal. There was no change in yesterday’s figure of seven deaths in Tibet. As aftershocks continued, people were seen squatting on roadsides, public places and near temples.
Using helicopters, heavy lift transport aircraft and infantry troops, defence forces rescued more than 3000 people in the quake-hit areas of Sikkim and intensified efforts to extricate people trapped under the debris of collapsed structures.
A bus carrying 22 people which went missing in north Sikkim since the temblor struck was yet to be traced. A spokesman of the 17 Mountain Division said the bus could be anywhere in a radius of 10 and 15 km along the quake epicentre Mangan and Chungthang and that efforts have been stepped up to track it.
Of the 53, 36 people died in the districts of North Sikkim, 12 in East Sikkim, four in West Sikkim and one in South Sikkim, a Relief Control Room official said in Gangtok. Reports said Vijay Kumar (52), Junior Engineer, Civil of Junior Reserve Engineering Force, an engineering team under Army died on Sunday in a landslide. The Army personnel hailing from Uttarakhand rushed for the rescue operations, after the earthquake struck Sikkim.
The National Highway 31-A from Mangan to Gangtok, 65 km from here, was closed due to blockades caused by heavy landslides but an alternative road was reopened to help rescue teams reach the worst-affected areas. A PTI correspondent who went around some of the quake-hit areas in and around Mangan found people in a state of shock, many afraid to enter their houses which have either developed cracks, tilted perilously or partially collapsed.
The toll in Sunday’s 6.8 magnitude strong earthquake has mounted to 92. Besides 53 in Sikkim, the toll has gone up to 12 in West Bengal, nine in Bihar and 11 in Nepal. There was no change in yesterday’s figure of seven deaths in Tibet. As aftershocks continued, people were seen squatting on roadsides, public places and near temples.
Using helicopters, heavy lift transport aircraft and infantry troops, defence forces rescued more than 3000 people in the quake-hit areas of Sikkim and intensified efforts to extricate people trapped under the debris of collapsed structures.
A bus carrying 22 people which went missing in north Sikkim since the temblor struck was yet to be traced. A spokesman of the 17 Mountain Division said the bus could be anywhere in a radius of 10 and 15 km along the quake epicentre Mangan and Chungthang and that efforts have been stepped up to track it.
