Click to Expand & PlayGangtok: Three days after a devastating earthquake measuring a forceful 6.8 on the Richter scale struck large parts of north-east India, rescue and relief teams are still trying to reach thousands of people trapped in remote areas.
Many villages in quake-hit Sikkim are still out of reach and thousands are said to be waiting for help. Rescue operations remain the biggest challenge as rain and landslides are severely hampering the efforts and bad weather is not allowing helicopters to land.
The earthquake death toll in India has so far crossed 70 and is expected to rise further. Most of the deaths have been reported from north Sikkim. Casualties have also been reported from neighbouring Bihar and West Bengal. The quake that hit at around 6pm on Sunday was centred on the Sikkim-Nepal border, 64 kilometres north-west of Gangtok. It also It also shook Nepal and Tibet. At least 20 people have died there.
Road links between Sikkim and the rest of the country, snapped since Sunday due to landslides, have been restored. But there are still stretches where mudslides have affected connectivity.
According to the home ministry, road connectivity to one of the worst-affected areas of Mangan in Sikkim has been restored while roads to another badly-hit area, Chungthan, remain shut. Both places are close to the quake epicentre located on the Indo-Nepal border.
Around 300 people were injured in the 6.8-magnitude quake on Sunday.
More than 6,000 Army and paramilitary troopers and police personnel are engaged in massive rescue and relief operations. Half of them have been deployed in worst-hit north Sikkim areas.
Authorities have opened at least 100 relief camps to provide food and medicines to those whose homes have been damaged in the quake. Around 2,000 people have taken shelter at these camps.
Many villages in quake-hit Sikkim are still out of reach and thousands are said to be waiting for help. Rescue operations remain the biggest challenge as rain and landslides are severely hampering the efforts and bad weather is not allowing helicopters to land.
The earthquake death toll in India has so far crossed 70 and is expected to rise further. Most of the deaths have been reported from north Sikkim. Casualties have also been reported from neighbouring Bihar and West Bengal. The quake that hit at around 6pm on Sunday was centred on the Sikkim-Nepal border, 64 kilometres north-west of Gangtok. It also It also shook Nepal and Tibet. At least 20 people have died there.
Road links between Sikkim and the rest of the country, snapped since Sunday due to landslides, have been restored. But there are still stretches where mudslides have affected connectivity.
According to the home ministry, road connectivity to one of the worst-affected areas of Mangan in Sikkim has been restored while roads to another badly-hit area, Chungthan, remain shut. Both places are close to the quake epicentre located on the Indo-Nepal border.
Around 300 people were injured in the 6.8-magnitude quake on Sunday.
More than 6,000 Army and paramilitary troopers and police personnel are engaged in massive rescue and relief operations. Half of them have been deployed in worst-hit north Sikkim areas.
Authorities have opened at least 100 relief camps to provide food and medicines to those whose homes have been damaged in the quake. Around 2,000 people have taken shelter at these camps.
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