Sikkim landslides: 1,000 vacationers caught in high-altitude hill stations; 1,500 rescued

Round 1,000 vacationers had been reported to be caught in two high-altitude hill stations in north Sikkim following landslides that hit the area on Thursday (April 24). A senior police officer stated Friday that some 1,500 different vacationers had been being accommodated in close by villages till street connectivity is restored.

Mangan superintendent of police (SP) Sonam Detchu Bhutia stated the 1,500 vacationers had been rescued Friday, with a few of them spending the evening in locations like police station, gurudwara, Indo-Tibetan Border Police camp.

“They had been taken out on Friday morning and have already left for Gangtok,” Bhutia was quoted as saying by Hindustan Instances.

Heavy rainfall since Thursday afternoon has triggered main landslides in north Sikkim, damaging roads close to Munshithang (on the best way to Lachen) and close to Lima (on the best way to Lachung), officers confirmed.

Vacationers presently in Lachen and Lachung stay stranded, and all journey permits for north Sikkim for Friday — together with pre-issued ones — have been cancelled. Tour operators have been directed to not ship any guests to the area till circumstances enhance.

This can be a severe setback for Lachen, which solely reopened to vacationers in March 2025 after being reduce off for over a 12 months because of the devastating glacial lake outburst flood in October 2023.

Information company PTI reported that whereas roads to Lachen and Lachung remained closed attributable to mudslides brought on by heavy rainfall final night, efforts had been on to clear the routes as quick as attainable.

Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur stated that every one vacationers are protected in numerous locations in north Sikkim after getting stranded attributable to landslides.