One person died, another went missing and three others suffered injuries after a massive landslide swept two houses at Boom Tafal village under Rinchenpong Assembly constituency in West Sikkim around 8.30pm on Friday.
All these persons are related. The landslide triggered by incessant rain also swept away four cows of the family.
West Sikkim district collector Karma R. Bonpo said the two houses belonged to the late Sangcho Lepcha and his son Duknam. Lepcha’s first wife Pomkit, 64, is missing, the body of his second wife Normit, 61, was found on Saturday.
The three injured are Duknam, his wife Lakit and their 10-year-old daughter Somden. All are admitted to the Namchi District Hospital in South Sikkim where Duknam is critical.
Search and rescue operations are being carried out by the West Sikkim police, a team of Sikkim Disaster Rescue Force and residents. “Ex-gratia under NC (national calamity) norms will be disbursed immediately,” said Bonpo.
Gold seized
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized over 33kg gold worth over Rs 17 crore from a truck in Siliguri on Friday. Sources said 202 gold bars smuggled through the Indo-Myanmar border of Manipur were on way to Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan via Siliguri. Four men were arrested.
