Kolkata:

Indian rescue teams are finding it difficult to reach flood-hit areas in the north-eastern state of Sikkim, where more than 140 people are missing as heavy rains are still lashing the area, officials said on Saturday.

The cloudburst followed by torrential rains and apparent avalanches breached the banks of Lahonak Lake on Wednesday, causing major flooding in the Teesta river.

State Chief Secretary VB Pathak said, “We are waiting for the weather conditions to improve, only then will the Air Force and other rescue teams be able to go to the flood-affected areas.”

The death toll has risen by two from Friday to 44, according to a government official monitoring rescue operations in the state capital Gangtok.

Hundreds of search and rescue personnel have been deployed across Sikkim and northern parts of neighboring state West Bengal. Areas near the river are on high alert. 15 army personnel are also among those reported missing.

About 2,000 tourists gathered in Lachung, Lachen and Chungthung areas of North Sikkim are reported to be safe and the Army has provided satellite phones so they can communicate with their families, another official said.

At least 13 bridges were washed away, hampering rescue efforts. All bridges downstream of NHPC hydropower station Teesta-V have either been submerged or washed away.

A major highway connecting Sikkim to Siliguri in West Bengal also collapsed due to floods.

State tourism ministry spokeswoman Bandana Chhetri said local legislators were considering whether trekking routes could be used to reach disaster-hit areas.

The floods were one of the region’s worst disasters in more than 50 years and were the latest in a series of extreme weather events that have caused widespread damage in the Himalayas of South Asia and which scientists say is caused by climate change.

Sikkim, a small Buddhist state located between Nepal, Bhutan and China, is home to about 650,000 people.