• In a late afternoon communication on Thursday, the Bengal government stated that 18 bodies were recovered during the day of which six bodies, four jawans and two civilians, have been identified. The process of identification of the rest of the bodies are underway, the government said.
• With no corroborative confirmation from the armed forces available till reports last received, it wasn't clear whether the dead jawans were among the 22 soldiers who went missing from Sikkim.
• 11 people from Lava in Kalimpong still remained missing, the government said.
• Some 450 tourists arrest from Bengal still remain stranded at remote locations of Lachen and other parts of North Sikkim where electricity and roadways communication are yet to be restored, the state government said.
• Over 3,500 people have currently taken shelter in camps spread across the districts of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts of Bengal, the communication stated.

The situation in flood-ravaged Sikkim and in the upper reaches of Bengal continues to remain grim with official estimates of 17 people dead and another 118 missing in the two states adding to the human tragedy wreaked by the flash floods on the Teesta River which triggered by an outburst of South Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim early Wednesday morning.

Combined satellite images show marked differences in pre and post scenario of the outburst of the South Lhonak Lake that triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin in Sikkim. (ISRO/Indian Army)

Among those missing are 22 Army personnel from the Burdang area near Singtam where efforts are being made to retrieve the 41 vehicles submerged under the slush. The search area has now reportedly been expanded downstream along the Teesta River. While 23 jawans were missing initially, one soldier was successfully rescued alive on the evening of October 4 and his condition was stated as stable.

Rescued soldier from the flash food.

In Bengal, government figures confirmed the recovery of three unidentified bodies and 14 people (13 from Rangpo forest valley and 1 from Tarkhola) of Sangsey under Lava Block, Kalimpong, situated right on the Sikkim border, missing. On Thursday, the body of a 27-year old male reportedly missing from Cooch Behar, was recovered from the banks of Teesta some 200 metres inside the Bangladesh border.

Remains of Army vehicles recovered from slush.

In Sikkim, in excess of 20,000 people have been affected by the disaster and more than 3,000 tourists are feared to be stranded in different parts of the state. About 12-14 workers working in the Teesta Stage-III dam in Chungthang, are still reportedly stranded in its construction tunnels. As per the Sikkim government, Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi districts are the worst affected.

Recovery efforts undertaken by the Indian Army in flood-ravaged Sikkim.

Meanwhile, troops of Trishakti Corps of the Indian Army extended mobile connectivity to civilians and tourists stranded in the areas of Chungthang, Lachung and Lachen in North Sikkim. Army officials confirmed that the search and rescue operation by the troops to trace the 22 missing soldiers is currently focused in the areas downstream of Teesta River.

Indian Army offering communication assistance to stranded civilians in Sikkim.

In a Wednesday evening communication, the Bengal government stated that the Teesta was flowing at a level of 85.18 meters marginally below the danger level of 85.65m and extreme danger Level of 85.95 meters at Domohoni in Jalpaiguri. Four teams of NDRF and seven additional SDRF teams remain deployed in the Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Siliguri areas of north Bengal. Two more companies of NDRF have also been dispatched to Jalpaiguri, the communication read.

Trinamul Congress leader Rabindranath Ghosh takes a stock of flood-situation in Cooch Behar. Telegraph picture.