Sikkim flash floods: MLA says rescue of tourists in Lachen to be over by tomorrow

The rescue and airlifting of tourists in Lachen is likely to be over by tomorrow. This has been stated by Lachen Mangan constituency MLA Samdup Lepcha.

While speaking to ANI, Lepcha said that most of the tourists have been airlifted by the army, and that the rescue efforts would be over by tomorrow. 

"None of the tourists or their relatives need to worry as of now. Everyone of them are safe here. As per the directives of the Central government and the state government, all the tourists have been airlifted by the army. The last hundred tourists left in Lachen would also be airlifted today. The ones in Thanguk are going through Lachung. A bridge is being built today, which once completed, will renew the connectivity here. But the tourists and their relatives need not worry. By tomorrow, the entire rescue efforts will be over," said Lepcha. 

Talking about the situation in Lachen, Lepcha said that while the situation continues to be bad, situation is fine as of now. 

"The situation in Lachen right now is quite bad. The Teesta is flowing through here in front of the dam where the incident happened. We had casualties in the form of two local persons. But the rest is fine for now. But because of the lack of road connectivity, we have not been able to move around much here. We had struggle for five days with essential supplies and some people who had fallen sick," said the Lachen Mangan MLA. 

Earlier, a video had gone viral where Lepcha could be seen ziplining across a flood-hit river in a rare display of commitment to his constituents. On October 7, Lepcha led a team from Pegong village in Mangan district to Chungthang, where locals have reported inadequate relief efforts. The only log bridge to Chungthang got washed away, prompting Lepcha and his team to take the only available route, a temporary zipline.