Two MI-17 V5 helicopters were deployed for a search and rescue mission in north Sikkim’s Chaten on Tuesday even as 15 persons, including four army personnel, involved in two separate accidents on Sunday and last Thursday, remained untraced.

Sources said that choppers had on board NDRF personnel equipped with essential supplies, satellite phones and essential emergency equipment to the remote region where access has been severely impaired since Saturday.

A landslide around 7pm on Sunday killed three army personnel in Chaten. Six persons, including an army officer, his wife and daughter, and three army jawans are still missing.

By Tuesday evening, the helicopters landed at the Pakyong Greenfield airport with 34 evacuees.

“Among those rescued were injured army personnel currently undertaking medical treatment, their family members and tourists,” said a source.

However, the army officer, his wife and daughter, and the three jawans continue to be missing.

Sources said that connectivity continues to remain breached in the area.

“Around 130 tourists across north Sikkim, including 113 in Lachen, continue to be stranded,” said an administrative source.

Tourists have been holed up since Saturday after heavy rain triggered multiple landslides at Theeng and Chungthang in Mangan district and disrupted communication.

“The Indian Army’s 112 Brigade has established a vital foot route between Lachen and Chaten, enabling the possibility of a phased ground movement in areas currently inaccessible by road,” said a source.

The source further added that the Sikkim government has outlined a strategic evacuation plan whereby tourists from Lachen will be moved to Chaten via the foot route and then airlifted, depending on the weather.

In the second incident at Munshithang area of north Sikkim, searches went on for the last five days to trace nine missing persons.

Last Thursday, eight tourists from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura as well as a driver went missing as their vehicle fell into the swollen river Teesta.

Rescue teams scoured a riverine area of 4km for the missing people on Tuesday.

Sources said that family members of some of the missing tourists were also present at the spot to get a first-hand account of the search and rescue operation.

Killed by tree

In a freak accident, Santosh Giri, 45, died when a tree fell on him at the Gangtok By-pass road in the capital around 3.30pm on Tuesday.

Early on Tuesday, a truck from Sikkim caught fire near Coronation Bridge in Sevoke on the Bengal side.