Cloudburst in Sikkim: Rajnath Singh prays for well-being of missing Army personnel
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday prayed for well-being of the army personnel who went missing in Sikkim after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in the Teesta river. Singh described the glacial lake burst at Lonak in Sikkim as «deeply heart-wrenching» and said relief and rescue operations in the area are in progress amidst extremely bad weather.
Twenty-three army personnel went missing following the cloudburst-triggered flash flood in the Teesta river basin, officials said.
Later, they said one soldier has been rescued.
«The Glacial Lake Burst at Lonak, Sikkim is deeply heart-wrenching. Relief and rescue operations in the midst of extremely bad weather are in progress.
Praying for the well-being of those army personnel, who are missing due to this tragedy,» Singh said in a post on X.
The Army's eastern command said 23 personnel went missing following the floods.
«Due to a sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, a flash flood occurred in the Teesta River in Lachen valley.
Some army establishments along the valley have been affected and efforts are on to confirm details,» it said in a statement.
«Release of water from the Chungthang dam led to a sudden increase in water level upto 15-20 feet high downstream. This has led to Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam getting affected,» it said.
