Rescue operations continue in quake-hit Sikkim

Naga (Sikkim) Sep 23 (ANI): Days after a massive earthquake wreaked havoc in Sikkim and brought normal life to a virtual standstill, rescue and salvage operations continued despite series of landslides and incessant rains.

Authorities have mobilised teams from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the National Disaster Response Force and other paramilitary outfits to undertake rescue and relief operations.

Clearing the debris, hundreds of officials are working relentlessly, day and night, trying to restore normalcy in the devastated region.

N Harikrishna, Officer in-charge of the BRO at Naga in Sikkim, said the rescue squads were giving their best in clearing the roads in order to make them operational at the earliest.

"Around 100 members are deployed in each district and more than 150 labourers we have applied (deployed). More than 20 equipments we have applied in this area. We are putting in a lot of effort and we tried to complete, we are taking the job as challenging to the organisation," said Harikrishna.

According to local media reports, with the progress in rescue operations, number of death and casualties are bound to increase as many areas are still out of reach for administrative officials due to difficult geographical terrain and weather conditions.

Army helicopters have also been pressed into relief works and they are conducting aerial surveillance and rescue operations.

Amid these developments, Harikrishna rued that rains and landslides were hampering rescue efforts.

"While doing the slide clearance, normally the rains are continuously going on and slides (landslides) also at the same time we are observing in some of our sites. By that time, our people are taking a lot of precautions and alertness and boldly they are working. They are putting in a lot of efforts," added Harikrishna.

A powerful earthquake with a 6.8 magnitude hit Sikkim and several areas in the eastern part of the country and neighbouring Nepal on the evening of September 18.

The epicentre of the quake was located in the Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 kilometres from Gangtok on the Sikkim-Nepal border. Tremors were also felt in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi. (ANI)