Sikkim: Three Army personnel die, six missing as landslide hits camp

Three Army personnel died and six soldiers went missing after a landslide hit a military camp at Chhaten in Sikkim, a defence official said on Monday. The landslide, which occurred at 7.00 pm on Sunday near Lachen town in Mangan district, was triggered by heavy rainfall in the area, he said.

“... A catastrophic landslide occurred following intense and continuous rainfall in the region causing death of three combatants, identified as Havaldar Lakhwinder Singh, Lance Naik Munish Thakur, and Porter Abhishek Lakhada,” the official said in a statement.

Bodies of the personnel have been recovered, while four other soldiers were rescued with minor injuries, the official said in a statement. "Rescue teams are working round-the-clock under challenging conditions to locate the six missing personnel," he said.

The Army has expressed deep condolences to the families of the deceased and assured all necessary support, the defence official added.

Elsewhere in the North-East, the flood situation in Assam remained grim on Monday with the water levels rising in many parts of the state, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has said moderate rainfall is very likely to occur at most places of Assam, while heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places.

Really sad news from North Sikkim. An officer, his wife, their young daughter and 9 soldiers got washed away in a fierce landslide in Lachen, Sikkim.

3 deaths confirmed and search for rest is on.

Prayers for safety of the remaining. Hope they are found soon 🙏 pic.twitter.com/sw9N86Jaiq

— Maj Manik M Jolly,SM (@Manik_M_Jolly) June 2, 2025

A report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Sunday night said two more people lost their lives in Cachar and Sribhumi districts, and around four lakh people are reeling under the deluge across 15 districts.

The total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslides has increased to 10.

Cachar is the worst hit with over one lakh people affected, followed by 85,000 people in Sribhumi and 62,000 in Nagaon, it added.

The administration has been operating 155 relief camps and relief distribution centres in 12 districts, taking care of 10,272 displaced people at present. Authorities have distributed 1,090.08 quintals of rice, 284.63 quintals of dal, 952.76 quintals of salt and 4,726.26 litres of mustard oil among the flood victims of the state during the last 24 hours.

At present, 764 villages are under water and 3,524.38 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, the ASDMA said. Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in many districts across the state.

The mighty Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Dibrugarh and Nimatighat. Its tributaries Dhansiri at Numaligarh and Kopili at Kampur are flowing above the danger level as well.

The Barak is flowing above the danger mark at Badarpur Ghat, while its tributaries Kushiyara at Sribhumi and Katakhal in Matizuri are also flowing above the danger mark, ASDMA said.