North Sikkim: The tourists stranded in the Sikkim district after a cloudburst were brought to Gangtok

Over 400 tourists were evacuated from North Sikkim on Thursday, four days after they got stranded in the district due to heavy rain and the resulting damage to roads.

The district administration arranged vehicles for all the 427 tourists to go to the state capital Gangtok, 130 km from North Sikkim.

The Army and private taxi operators also sent some vehicles to Chungthang to bring the stranded tourists to a staging area, from where they were taken to Gangtok by state-owned buses.

The tourists were given snacks before being sent to Gangtok, officials said.

The Teesta river has been flowing above the danger mark due to a cloud burst in the higher reaches of North Sikkim.

Tourists who needed medical attention were checked by doctors, North Sikkim district commissioner said. The Travel Agents Association of Sikkim gave them free food and stay at Lachen, while the Army's Gorkha Regiment and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police helped the administration in the mission, the official said, according to news agency PTI.

Some 60 tourist vehicles were stranded between Lachen and Zema in North Sikkim four days ago due to heavy rain, hours after the cloudburst.