April 5 (Reuters) – Rescue teams on Wednesday made final checks for those still trapped in an avalanche that killed seven people on a road in the Indian Himalayan state of Sikkim the day before.
Rescue teams rescued 20 survivors from the snowdrifts on the road to the Natu La Pass between Sikkim and the Chinese side of Tibet before calling off the search as bad weather closed in and darkness fell on Tuesday evening.
“Rescue operations have resumed this morning because we want to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind. We will search the area properly before we call them in,” Northeastern state police officer Tenzing Loden Lepsa told Reuters. Telephone.
Avalanches in the Indian Himalayas have killed at least 120 people in the past two years.
A 2018 study in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that climate change has increased avalanche risks in the Himalayas.
The cause of Tuesday’s disaster was not immediately known.
Tourists flock to Sikkim, which lies below Mount Kanchenjunga, also known as Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
Nadu La Seva is a route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to Mount Kailash in China, considered one of the holiest pilgrimages in Hinduism.
Shilpa Jamkandikar reports in Mumbai; Editing by Robert Birzel
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