A sudden bout of intense rainfall triggered multiple landslides and damaged roads in Sikkim on Thursday, leaving around 1,400 visitors stranded at Lachen and Lachung, two tourist hotspots in Mangan district.

A group of tourists who were stuck between Mangan and Chungthang — the junction from where visitors head for Lachen and Lachung —were evacuated by road on Friday.

Senior officials, including the district collector and the superintendent of police of Mangan, have visited the affected areas. They are in contact with GREF (General Reserve Engineer Force), which functions under the defence ministry, for the early restoration of roads.

“Tourists who are stranded in Lachen and Lachung are staying at hotels. The local administration and police are monitoring the situation. We hope some roads will be cleared of debris by this evening. Then, the movement of vehicles will resume,” Anant Jain, the Mangan district collector, said on Friday.

Jain, along with police officers and others, visited the road closure site at Bop along the Chungthang-Lachung road to assess the situation.

“The subdivisional magistrate of Chungthang has been instructed to coordinate with the local construction companies and utilise their available machinery to expedite the restoration of road connectivity,” said a source.

Sources said around 600 tourists and 100 vehicles were stuck in Lachen, while another 800 tourists and 150-odd vehicles were stranded in Lachung.

“Some other tourists on their way to these places were stuck in Chungthang. There were mudslides because of heavy rainfall, and water has been flowing heavily over roads. We hope the situation will improve tomorrow, but it will take some time to restore roads,” said a representative of the Travel Agents’ Association of Sikkim.

The natural disaster has also affected the electricity supply in Lachen, Lachung and Chungthang, and the power department is working for the restoration of electricity, he added.

A major landslide occurred at Munshithang on the Lachen–Chungthang road. Another landslide hit Lema/Bob on the Lachung–Chungthang road.

On Friday morning, the administration and the police rescued tourists stranded in Chungthang through the newly constructed Bailey bridge at Sangkalang. Around 200 vehicles carrying tourists have moved through the bridge that was installed by the Sukna-based Trishakti Corps of the Indian army and opened only on Thursday.

The evacuated tourists have been shifted to Gangtok, the sources said.

The situation prompted the Sikkim government to stop issuing permits to tourists wishing to visit Mangan district.

“A travel advisory has been issued because of the prevailing situation. Unless the weather improves, no permits will be issued, as the rainfall and landslides have impacted road connectivity. The permits, which were issued earlier, have been cancelled,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network.

Kalpak De from Siliguri, who runs hotels in north Sikkim, said the tourists were safe at Lachen and Lachung.

“They are provided with food, accommodation, medicines and other help. We are waiting for instructions from the administration and will accordingly evacuate them,” he said.

Sources in the regional Met office in Gangtok said there was a forecast of thunderstorms, coupled with hailstorms and rainfall, in some locations of the state, including Mangan, during the next 48 hours.

“An orange alert has been issued for these areas as there can be localised flooding, landslides and low visibility,” said a source.