Rescue operations to evacuate stranded tourists from Chaten in north Sikkim resumed on Friday morning, with 17 more people airlifted from the landslide-hit region, officials said. This comes a day after 63 people, mostly tourists, were brought to safety following a massive landslide earlier in the week.

"A helicopter successfully carried out the first evacuation of the day, airlifting 17 individuals from Chaten to Greenfield Airport, Pakyong," an official said. Three helicopters had taken off from the Pakyong Greenfield Airport early in the day as part of the resumed rescue efforts.

With Friday’s airlift, 47 more tourists are still stranded in Chaten. “All of them will be evacuated by helicopters as soon as possible,” the official added. The state government has deployed buses to transport the evacuees from Pakyong to Gangtok, from where they will continue to their onward destinations.

A team from the Health and Family Welfare Department was stationed at the airport to conduct preliminary medical screenings of those rescued.

The evacuation efforts had to be suspended on Thursday due to inclement weather and difficult terrain. Officials reiterated that the operation will continue "depending on weather conditions and operational feasibility."

The crisis began on June 1 when a landslide struck a military camp in Chaten, killing three army personnel. Six soldiers are still missing and several others were injured in the incident. Search operations to locate the missing soldiers are ongoing.