India resumes rescue operations after avalanche kills 7
New Delhi, Mar 5 (EFE).- Indian authorities resumed search and rescue operations on Wednesday in the state of Sikkim, in northern India, where seven tourists were killed in an avalanche and another 20 have been rescued.
Operations resumed at 8 am after the rescue teams were forced to leave the area on Tuesday evening due to inclement weather, an official of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, Bijayata Kharel, told EFE.
The official said that the operations were resumed in case someone was still trapped under the snow although she added that everything indicated that there were no more missing tourists.
So far, the authorities have managed to rescue 20 people alive, while another seven have died, the Indian army, which is conducting the rescue operations together with the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority and the police, said on Twitter on Tuesday.
The avalanche took place on Tuesday near Nathula Pass, located at an altitude of over 4,000 meters, which connects India’s Sikkim and Tibet and is very popular with tourists.
The Indian army shared footage of the rescue operations, with security forces and locals trying to dig out people buried under the snow on a hillside.
One of the videos also showed military personnel carrying an apparently unconscious young woman to an ambulance.
In one of the worst events of its kind in India, more than 50 people died in February 2021 after an avalanche hit a Himalayan valley.
The melting of a massive snow mass from Mt Nanda Devi, one of the highest peaks of the Indian Himalayas, triggered the avalanche. EFE
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