The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pressed in three teams for rescue-and-relief operations following a cloudburst over the Lhonak lake in north Sikkim that resulted in a flash flood in the Teesta river basin, officials said on Wednesday.

A spokesperson of the federal contingency force said in Delhi that they have deployed one team at Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, and two teams in the adjoining state of West Bengal for the task.

The force has so far rescued seven people. The NDRF teams are carrying ropes, ladders and other necessary equipment, the spokesperson said.

Five people were killed and 23 Army personnel washed away earlier in the day after the cloudburst over the Lhonak lake resulted in the flash flood, which was aggravated by the release of water from a dam.

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