Hyderabad: The rains receded on Thursday and the rescue operation picked up pace in North Sikkim where 20 Telugu tourists were stranded at Lachen village. They are likely to reach Gangtok by late on Thursday.
Mountaineer P. Sravan Kumar, who was coordinating with the stranded tourists, said, “Tourists on Thursday started from Lachen at around 9.30 am and went across 3 landslides with the help of the Army and local police. The Army formed a human chain and helped the tourist cross a dangerous path and also transported their luggage. The tourists had to walk over 10 km to reach a centre where the state cabinet visited them.”
He added, “As late as 9 pm Thursday, two buses reached Gangtok and all are expected to reached by Thursday night. From Gangtok, the tourists head to their respective homes.” A total of 350 tourists from different states, including an 88-year-old senior citizen from Ahmedabad, youth and children have been stuck for four days, as a result of five landslides, as a result of torrential rains triggered due to cloudburst.
