2023-10-07 12:19:00
At least 56 people died in a Himalayan valley in northeast India after flash floods caused by the overflowing of a glacial lake on Wednesday, according to a new report from authorities on Saturday.
In Sikkim, “twenty-six bodies were found,” state official Anilraj Rai told AFP.
In neighboring West Bengal, thirty more bodies were recovered from the Teesta river basin by rescue and search teams downstream, Jalpaiguri district police commissioner K. Umesh Ganpat said.
“The river stretches for 86 kilometers,” he added. “Search operations continue.”
Lake Lhonak, which overflowed on Wednesday, causing significant destruction in a valley downstream, is located at the foot of a glacier near Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world.
The dead include seven Indian army soldiers stationed in Sikkim, which is located on India’s remote border with Nepal and China and has a significant military presence.
Sixteen soldiers are also on the list of missing, estimated at more than 100 people.
India’s defense ministry said in a statement that floods had swept away “firearms and explosives” stored in military camps.
The Indian army has positioned teams along the river to recover lost equipment, the ministry added.
Local media reported on Friday that two people died and four others were injured in a mortar shell explosion as they attempted to cross waters in West Bengal state. .
Bridges, roads and telephone lines have been washed away by water, complicating evacuations and communication efforts with thousands of people isolated from the rest of the country.
More than 2,400 people were rescued, and nearly 7,000 others took refuge in improvised relief camps in schools, government offices and guest houses, according to the latest report from Sikkim authorities.
Between 2011 and 2020, Himalayan glaciers melted 65% faster than in the previous decade due to climate change, according to a report published in June by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Nepal.
The average temperature on Earth’s surface has increased by almost 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, but high mountain regions around the world have warmed at twice the rate, climate scientists say.
07/10/2023 12:17:28 – Calcutta (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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