Sikkim quake toll rises to 93, many villages remain cutoff

GANGTOK: With the recovery of a body from a multi-storey building here, the quake-related death toll in Sikkim rose to 93 today as rescuers slowly made their way to devastated villages in North District braving rains and landslides.

Official sources said the body was found during the day by rescuers from the building which caved in during heavy rains on September 23 night after developing cracks due to the quake.

With this the toll in East District has gone up to 14, while it remained same in rest of the state - 74 in North District, 1 in South District and 4 in West District.

Sources in control room in North District said at least 13 villages on the Mangan-Djongu side remained inaccessible as well as along Mangan-Lachen route in the worst-hit district with intermittent rains and landslips blocking arterial roads at many areas.

The army and BRO men were proceeding cautiously. The route from Mongan-Lachen, with Lachen being a scenic tourist spot, will now take at least one more month for visitors to go in the present situation like other north Sikkim spots, a BRO official said.

The army made some sorties in the ravaged interiors of North Sikkim today and distributed relief materials, they said.