State officials say that at least six tourists died and 22 tourists have been saved so far after an avalanche hit them in Sikkim on Tuesday afternoon.
The accident happened at the 14th mile of the Jawaharlal Nehru road, which goes from Gangtok to Nathula at the border between India and China.
Sonam Tenzing Bhutia, the inspector general (check post) of the Sikkim police, said, “Four men, a woman, and a child are among the dead. We haven’t found out who they are yet.”
Up until 3 p.m., at least 50 more tourists were stuck. Officials said that the Army, the state police, and local volunteers rushed to their aid.
Since March, it has snowed often in Sikkim, and tourists were not allowed to move past 13th Mile, which is on the JN Road and leads to the Nathula pass.
Government officials in Sikkim said that tourists were allowed to go up to 13th Mile, but many of them were at 15th Mile when the avalanche hit.
The avalanche was thought to have killed about 80 tourists.
Thirty of them were saved by 3 p.m. and taken to different hospitals in Gangtok, which is the capital of the state.
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