The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) carried out a nearly-10-hour search operation from Wednesday morning to afternoon at the avalanche site in east Sikkim which killed seven persons on Tuesday.

They, however, didn’t find any victims trapped in the snow and stopped the exercise by afternoon.

“The BRO recommenced the search operation again today (Wednesday) at 5.30am with the NDRF team to ensure that if there are survivors, they can be rescued from the snow. The rescue operation continued till 3pm but no further fatalities were found. Accordingly, the operation was stopped and the road was opened for traffic. The operation was monitored at the site by the chief engineer of Project Swastik of the BRO along with his team of officers and men,” said a source in the army.

On Tuesday, an avalanche occurred at 15th Mile in Jawaharlal Nehru Road which connects Gangtok, state capital of the Himalayan state, with popular tourist destinations like Tsomgo (Chhangu) Lake, Nathu-la and Baba Mandir, all located in Gangtok district of Sikkim.

A group of tourists, who had ascended upwards on the hilly road, were blown away by the avalanche. The army rescued them but seven among them died of cold. Thirteen others who were injured were treated at the army’s medical facilities and at the STNM hospital in Gangtok.

The Sikkim government has stopped issuing permits to tourists to a number of destinations in east and north Sikkim.

“For north Sikkim, permits will be issued till Lachen and Lachung in north Bengal. Tourists are advised not to move beyond these areas. No permits were issued for tourists for Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir, and Nathu-la,” said a source in the administration.

As BRO and NDRF continued their search operations and used gadgets like thermal scanners to find out if anybody was stuck in the ice, B.S. Pant, the state minister for tourism and civil aviation in Sikkim, visited the spot with senior officers of his department to take stock of the situation.

“He spoke with army officials.... Later, he also wentto STNM hospital to meet the injured and their families,” the source added.

On Tuesday night, chief minister P.S. Tamang visited the hospital, he asserted that the state government would make arrangements to send the mortal remains of the seven tourists to their homes.

Accordingly, the bodies of three Nepal residents and of 28-year-old Sourav Roy Choudhury of Siliguri’s Shaktigarh were sent to their respective homes. The remaining three bodies will be sent on Thursday morning, said sources.

“Sourav worked in a private company and went to Gangtok on an official trip. Tuesday was his holiday and so he planned a trip to Chhangu Lake with two other friends. He had spoken with his parents even on Monday night. Today (Wednesday), he returned home in a coffin,” said a relative of the deceased youth.

Mayor Gautam Deb met the bereaved family, expressed his condolences and promised all possible help from thecivic body.

Bhaskar Das, a mountaineer in Jalpaiguri, said the administration should intensify vigil to prevent tourists from taking risks.

“On Wednesday, tourists went ahead along the route instead of stopping at the point till which permits were issued. This led to the loss of lives and injuries. To stop tourists from taking such risks, the administration should be more vigilant in such locations,” said Das.

Search operations at the avalanche site in Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, east Sikkim, on Wednesday

Prem Singh Tamang, the Sikkim chief minister, meets a person injured in the avalanche at the STNL Hospital, Gangtok, on Tuesday evening