At least forty people have died in a Himalayan valley in northeast India and thousands more are left homeless after flash floods caused by the overflowing of a glacial lake on Wednesday, according to a new report on Friday October 6, from authorities.
“Nineteen bodies have been found,” V. B. Pathak, Sikkim’s top state official, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). In neighboring West Bengal, 21 bodies have been found in the past three days, district magistrate Shama Parveen told AFP.
The previous death toll announced by authorities on Thursday was at least 14, but search and rescue teams downstream recovered more bodies overnight as waters moved toward the Bay of Bengal.
8,000 people taken refuge in relief camps
Nearly 8,000 people took shelter in makeshift relief camps in schools, government offices and guest houses, according to a statement from the state of Sikkim.
With weather conditions improving on Friday, “there could be a window of opportunity to evacuate stranded tourists by helicopter,” the statement added.
Lake Lhonak, which overflowed on Wednesday, causing significant destruction in a valley downstream, is located at the foot of a glacier near Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world.
The affected area, a remote mountainous region of the Himalayas, is near the border with Nepal and China.