On Thursday morning, 59 tourists were airlifted from North Sikkim to Gangtok as rescue operations resumed following a brief break in the weather, officials reported. These tourists were part of a group of 109 stranded in Lachung for nearly a week due to heavy rains and landslides. Two MI-17V5 helicopters departed from Pakyong airport near Gangtok, flying to Chaten in North Sikkim with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the power department, and Airtel engineers. These teams have been deployed to help restore essential services in the affected area.

“They are being prepared for air evacuation whenever weather conditions improve,” said an official. One helicopter carried 39 tourists back to Gangtok, while the other transported 20. Among those rescued were two foreign nationals. Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) has arranged buses to help the evacuated tourists reach Siliguri in West Bengal. For those preferring to travel by air, an additional helicopter was kept on standby at Pakyong airport to fly them to Bagdogra near Siliguri.

The group of 109 tourists had been moved from Lachung to Chaten to facilitate their evacuation. “The tourists were housed in hotels and at the Chaten military camp,” an officer added. Helicopter flights were suspended on Wednesday due to poor weather in North Sikkim. Tragedy struck on Sunday when a landslide hit a military camp at Chaten, resulting in the death of three Army personnel and leaving six others missing. Several others were injured. Search operations for the missing soldiers have been severely affected by unstable terrain, bad weather, and the challenging high-altitude environment.

Relief efforts have also been hindered by the destruction of two vital bridges over the Taran Chu river—between Munshithang and Chaten—washed away by continuous rain, cutting off road access from Lachen to Chaten. Three days ago, 1,678 tourists were rescued from Lachung and Chungthang, while 33 others, including two US nationals, were airlifted before helicopter services were paused due to weather conditions.