7 tourists killed, 20 missing in avalanche in Nathu La, East Sikkim
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The incident occurred at Mile 14 near Changu on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg (NH
310), between Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La Pass, in East Sikkim, at 12.15
Tuesday afternoon, trapping over 100 tourists. Many vehicles are also missing.
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GANGTOK, April 4: Seven tourists were killed and 11 others injured in an avalanche
in Nathu La in east Sikkim near the Chinese border on Tuesday afternoon. Twenty
two have been rescued from under the snow and twenty more are missing - trapped
under the snow or washed away into the gorge. The casualty may go up.
The incident occurred at Mile 14 near Changu on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg (NH 310),
between Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La Pass, in East Sikkim, at 12.15 Tuesday afternoon,
trapping over 100 tourists. Many vehicles are also missing. Jawaharlal Nehru
Marg road connects Gangtok to Nathu La Pass at China border, a distance of 56
km.
Rescue operation is going on and the injured have been hospitalised in nearby
army hospital and in Capital Gangtok. Sikkim Police, BRO, Army and tour operators
have joined the rescue work on a war footing clearing the snow.
The mishap occurred when some tourists were approaching the hills around Tsomgo Lake on foot. The avalanche mowed them down and many were swept away into the gorge down or
buried alive.
There were about 350 tourists around the Nathula-Tsomgo region when the mishap
occurred.
“By 3 PM, 14 persons were rescued and taken to nearby Army medical facility.
However, seven persons succumbed. The other seven persons were administered
first aid and returned to Gangtok,” the Army said in a statement.
Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La have had heavy snowfall and snowstorm in the past
few weeks.
Nathu La Pass is a popular tourist destination with the nature's bounty.
Nathu La Pass, 56 km away from Gangtok, is at an altitude of 14200 ft. Nathu
La Pass used to be a corridor for passage between India and Tibet. Tsomgo Lake
comes 15 km before Nathu La Pass.
See:
SIKKIM - East destinations
See: Tsomgo lake, which changes colours, and Nathu La Pass on
China border need permission to visit
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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(Today's headlines )
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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