Fifty-nine tourists were airlifted from north Sikkim to Gangtok on Thursday morning as rescue operations resumed following a brief spell of clear weather, officials said. They were reportedly among the 109 tourists stranded in Lachung for nearly a week due to incessant rain and landslides.

Two MI-17V5 helicopters took off from Pakyong airport near Gangtok and flew to Chaten in north Sikkim, carrying personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), power department and engineers from Airtel. These teams are deployed to assist in restoring essential services in the affected region.

“They are now being prepared for air evacuation as and when the weather permits,” an officer said.

While 39 tourists returned to Gangtok on one helicopter, 20 came back on another. Among those rescued were two foreigners, according to officials. Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) has deployed buses to help the rescued tourists travel to Siliguri in West Bengal. For those wishing to continue their journey by air, an additional helicopter was on standby at the Pakyong airport to facilitate travel to Bagdogra near Siliguri.

The 109 tourists had been moved to Chaten from Lachung to enable their evacuation. “The tourists were accommodated in hotels and at the Chaten military camp,” an officer said.

Helicopter sorties had been suspended on Wednesday due to adverse weather in north Sikkim.

Tragedy struck on Sunday when a landslide hit a military camp at Chaten, killing three Army personnel and leaving six others missing. Several others were also injured. Search operations for the missing soldiers have been significantly hampered by unstable ground, bad weather and the difficult high-altitude terrain, officials said.

Relief efforts have also been disrupted after two critical bridges over the Taran Chu river — located between Munshithang and Chaten — were washed away by continuous rainfall, cutting off motorable access to Chaten from Lachen.

Three days ago, 1,678 tourists were rescued from Lachung and Chungthang. Additionally, 33 others — including two US nationals — had been airlifted before helicopter services were halted due to weather.