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With rescue teams facing difficulties to reach some far flung quake-hit areas in Sikkim, hundreds of survivors are trekking out of their cut-off villages, crawling sometimes to negotiate dangerous stretches.
Hundreds of villagers from inaccessible higher areas of Lachung, Lachen and Chungthan have gathered here after an arudous trek down and are being taken to safe places.
Army sources said hundreds of villagers reached Tung, 10 km from Chungthang, one of the worst-hit areas, and many were still trekking down from remote areas of Lachen, Lachung and Chungthang.
Karma Bhutia (30), who arrived from Lachen on Friday after trekking for two days, told PTI, “We panicked at fresh landslides triggered by rain at Lachen on Wednesday night, when huge boulders started hurtling down the hills.
“We first escaped to Guma and spent the night there and next morning we started trekking through extremely difficult terrains covered with debris,” he said.
Bhutia spoke how some of the villagers had to crawl some distances in spells since the wet soil tended to loosen and which might cave in any moment if they walked on such stretches.
Five days after the 6.8 magnitude quake shook Sikkim and neighbouring areas, stranded people showed grit and determination to sail through the tense and anxiety-filled hours
Twenty-two engineers of a private construction firm have been rescued and are being sent to Gangtok on Friday.
Army sources said 22 engineers and technicians of Poddar Construction, engaged by the Teesta Urja Project, were rescued from Tung, five days after their bus was stranded during the powerful tremor in Sikkim.
“Their bus was halted by a huge boulder and our men rescued them from Tung on Thursday. They will be sent to Gangtok on Friday,” they said.
According to project manager of Poddar construction Bipul Halder, “The situation is very bad. We were stranded and could not come out of the bus. We had to sustain with the little ration left with us.”
Labourers returning to Gangtok from the Teesta Stage III hydel project site at Chungthang in worst-hit North District on Friday claimed that 70 of their colleagues were still missing.
Hundreds of villagers from inaccessible higher areas of Lachung, Lachen and Chungthan have gathered here after an arudous trek down and are being taken to safe places.
Army sources said hundreds of villagers reached Tung, 10 km from Chungthang, one of the worst-hit areas, and many were still trekking down from remote areas of Lachen, Lachung and Chungthang.
Karma Bhutia (30), who arrived from Lachen on Friday after trekking for two days, told PTI, “We panicked at fresh landslides triggered by rain at Lachen on Wednesday night, when huge boulders started hurtling down the hills.
“We first escaped to Guma and spent the night there and next morning we started trekking through extremely difficult terrains covered with debris,” he said.
Bhutia spoke how some of the villagers had to crawl some distances in spells since the wet soil tended to loosen and which might cave in any moment if they walked on such stretches.
Five days after the 6.8 magnitude quake shook Sikkim and neighbouring areas, stranded people showed grit and determination to sail through the tense and anxiety-filled hours
Twenty-two engineers of a private construction firm have been rescued and are being sent to Gangtok on Friday.
Army sources said 22 engineers and technicians of Poddar Construction, engaged by the Teesta Urja Project, were rescued from Tung, five days after their bus was stranded during the powerful tremor in Sikkim.
“Their bus was halted by a huge boulder and our men rescued them from Tung on Thursday. They will be sent to Gangtok on Friday,” they said.
According to project manager of Poddar construction Bipul Halder, “The situation is very bad. We were stranded and could not come out of the bus. We had to sustain with the little ration left with us.”
Labourers returning to Gangtok from the Teesta Stage III hydel project site at Chungthang in worst-hit North District on Friday claimed that 70 of their colleagues were still missing.
