States » EastPosted at: Jun 6 2025 9:28PM


Sikkim: All stranded tourists airlifted from north district

Gangtok, June 6 (UNI) All the tourists, who had been stranded for past eight days in Sikkim's last village
of Chaten in the inhospitable north district,were airlifted safely on Friday by the Indian armed forces
helicopters, which for the first time made four successfully sorties in the prevailing harsh weather
condition, official sources said.
"In a continued effort to ensure the safe evacuation of individuals stranded in Chaten due to adverse weather conditions and road disruptions, the second round of evacuation operations was successfully carried out today using the MI-02 and MI-39 helicopters."
A total of 44 individuals were airlifted from Chaten and brought safely to Greenfield Airport, Pakyong, a latest government communique said.
Among those evacuated, 17 were local residents who had been stranded due to the prevailing
situation. The operation was conducted under the close coordination of concerned authorities to ensure
the safety and well-being of all evacuees.
"With the successful completion of this round, all stranded tourists have now been evacuated from
Chaten. Following this, the evacuation operation for the day has officially been called off," the
communique continued.
So far 126 tourists, including two US citizens, who were forced to stay at Chaten, some 130 kms north of
Pakyong Greenfield airport, after cloudbursts and massive landslides triggered by torrents cut off the
north district from the rest of the world, have been safely airlifted.
The aerial evacuation was opted on June 3 when all exit routes disrupted cutting off the arterial routes
linking the state capital Gangtok in the east.
For the first time multiple sorties were possible today as flying of chopper more than once was rendered impossible in owing to vagaries of the weather in the mountain terrain of the Easter Himalaya, the home of world 3rd highest peak Kanchenjunga, the guardian deity of Sikkim.
As per the current plan, the helicopter services will resume tomorrow. The helicopters will be used to
transport essential relief materials from Pakyong Airport to Chaten.
Additionally, arrangements will be made to bring back the remaining local residents who are still stranded in the area. The administration continued to monitor the situation and remains committed to extending all necessary support, the government said. UNI PC SSP
Tags: #Sikkim: All stranded tourists airlifted from north district
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