The death toll climbed to 19 in Sikkim on Thursday, a day after the Teesta had swelled and swept away towns and villages along its banks in the Himalayan state and Kalimpong district of Bengal, while around 100 people, including army personnel, were still missing.

Although the Sikkim government pegged the toll at 19, officials of Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts said 21 bodies had been recovered from the Teesta so far.

The Sikkim government, which is grappling with the most extensive natural disaster in recent times, is engaged in providing relief to affected residents, rescuing stranded people and restoring roads and localities that were washed away or were buried under mounds of slush.

“So far, 18 people have died and 98 are missing. Another 23 have been injured. The NDRF, along with other state and central agencies, are working together to rescue people. We are putting all efforts to provide relief to people and in restoring the infrastructure,” Sikkim chief secretary V.B. Pathak said on Thursday afternoon.

Later at night, the Sikkim administration revised the toll to 19.

Downstream the Teesta, 18 bodies were found in Jalpaiguri and three in Cooch Behar till Thursday evening. It is not clear whether the Sikkim toll includes anyone whose body was found in Bengal.

The Teesta enters Bangladesh from the Mekhliganj subdivision of Cooch Behar district.

“The body of a woman, aged 45 to 50 years old, was found from the Teesta by Bangladesh police in the Sundarganj police station area which is in the Gaibandha district of the neighbouring country. Initiatives are being taken to bring the body through BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh. Two other bodies were found in Haldibari and Singhpara (an islet in the Teesta at Mekhliganj),” said an official of the Cooch Behar district administration.

In Jalpaiguri, seven bodies were found on Wednesday, while 11 more were spotted on Friday in different areas under the jurisdiction of Kotwali, Mainaguri, Malbazar and Rajganj police stations.

“It seems four of the victims are personnel of the Indian Army. We are on alert as many people went missing upstream the river,” said Shama Parveen, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri.

On Wednesday night, the Sikkim government issued a release that said 14 people had died while 102 had gone missing.

The Sikkim government, Pathak said, has planned to send essential items to certain parts of north Sikkim, where the road connectivity is yet to be restored, through helicopters. “The choppers will carry these items to specific locations and while returning, they will bring in stranded tourists and other affected people,” he said.

In Bengal, governor C.V. Ananda Bose, state ministers Partha Bhowmik and Udayan Guha, and GTA chief executive Anit Thapa visited the affected areas.

Bose flew to Bagdogra from Delhi and went to Sevoke, which is along NH10 and around 20km from here, to check the damage caused by the flash flood. He also met some affected residents in Jalpaiguri district.

Bhowmik, who landed soon after Bose, called the governor a “tourist.”

Bose told newspersons: “Yes, I am a tourist. I would have been happy if any of my junior appointees had come here to take stock of the situation as a tourist. I got information about the disaster and took the flight from Delhi.”

Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar correspondents