Hundreds of tourists stranded in north Sikkim

A major landslide at Lantha Khola in Sigyik area in north Sikkim has cut off the road link between Mangan and Chungthang, leaving several hundred tourists stranded, police said on Sunday.

The landslide took place late Saturday night following heavy rains. Boulders and soil from the mountains slipped and blocked the roads for hundreds of domestic tourists, whose exact numbers or their vehicles are yet to be known as the rains have disrupted the telephone communication.

Casualty to life and property, if any, was also not known.

The road connects the capital town of Gangtok to the popular tourist destinations of Lachung and Lachen. Border Road Organisation (BRO), an army unit responsible for construction and maintenance of road infrastructure in border states, has started clearing the debris.

It will take about three hours to clear the road and resume vehicular traffic, BRO sources said.