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Earthquake toll 74 as rain, slides hamper rescue

SINGTAM (SIKKIM)/GANGTOK: Rescuers battled heavy rains and cleared dozens of landslides while making their way to Sikkim, the ground zero of Sunday evenings 6.8 magnitude earthquake that has so far claimed 74 lives across three countries - India, Nepal and China (Tibet). According to late-night reports, at least 58 people were killed and hundreds injured in Sikkim, Bengal and Bihar, in addition to nine deaths in Nepal and seven in Tibet. The toll is likely to rise, say rescuers. In Sikkim, the toll had reached 41. The maximum casualties have been in Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang in north Sikkim. Ten persons have died in Bengal and seven in Bihar. TOI reached some of the worst-affected areas, following rescue convoys as they battled impossible odds. Every now and then progress was halted by massive landslides. Virtually nothing is left intact on the 100-km Gangtok-Chungthang road. NH-31A, the highway to Gangtok, was cleared by late afternoon. Roads and bridges between Meeli and Namchi in south Sikkim and Rawangla in west Sikkim have been severely damaged. Tourists have been warned not to venture beyond Gangtok. Nearly 6,000 Army and paramilitary forces personnel were deployed for relief operations in Sikkim but till Monday evening only a handful could reach Mangan, the quakes epicenter, and surrounding areas of north and west Sikkim, where the maximum damage has been reported.

                                                                                                               
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