Rescue operations to evacuate some 250 landslide-hit tourists from north Sikkim continued on Friday as state police, along with other agencies, helped them reach Gangtok from the region.

On Wednesday, 550-odd tourists who were stuck in Lachung after landslides, were rescued by the Indian army and accommodated in local hotels and a gurdwara.

On Thursday, around 300 were moved out in transshipment vehicles for Gangtok.

“On Friday, rescue operations started in the morning. Around 250 tourists, who were still in Lachung, were carried in vehicles and taken to Pegong under Chungthang sub-division of Sikkim’s North district. There, they got down and crossed the landslide zone with the help of police and others. Then, they were provided with vehicles that took them to Gangtok and other destinations,” said a source.

After landslides blocked a number of roads in north Sikkim, the state government stopped issuing passes to tourists to Lachen, Lachung, Yumesamdong, Yumthang and the Gurudongmar Lake.

A senior police official said that almost all tourists who got stranded in the North district have been evacuated.

“We are in touch with hotel owners to find out if any tourist is still there,” he said.

Weather started improving since Thursday night. No fresh rain has occurred since.

“This is because southwest monsoon has retreated.... There may be rain and thundershowers in some places of sub-Himalayan Bengal but weather in most places will be dry,” said a weather expert.

However, even as the weather starts changing for the better in north Bengal and Sikkim, many tourists are changing their plans as they are apprehensive of fresh landslides.

“Many tourists who planned to visit Sikkim now want to go to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and the Dooars,” said Debasish Maitra, the head of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators’ Association.

Samrat Sanyal, general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, said the trend of bookings till winter had brought fresh hope for the tourism industry that had taken a beating in the past two years because of the pandemic.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope the footfall of tourists will increase in coming months. It will largely help in the revival of the tourism industry,” Sanyal said.

Tourists move through a damaged stretch of the road at Pegong near Chungthang in north Sikkim on Friday