22 bodies recovered from the Teesta River along the banks of Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Cooch Behar

Siliguri, Oct 6 :  At least 22 bodies, five of those females, have

been recovered along the Teesta river waters, presumed to have been

swept away after a cloudburst and flash flood of the Himalayan glacial

lake which erupted in the neighbouring Sikkim’s northern district on

Wednesday, official sources said on Friday.

Of the total 22 bodies, 15 of them were found by the volunteers and

rescue workers of various NGOs under the Jalpaiguri district Teesta

Barrage region, four in the Siliguri region and the remaining in

distance Cooch Behar district where the swelling Teesta crosses its

course, originating from

Sikkim.

The bodies on October 4 and 5, sources added.

All the recovered bodies have been taken by the respective district

police station, which put them in the morgue for preservation

until their

identification was known, sources added.

Sources said among the dead, four of those were Army personnel.

Among the bodies recovered, five of those were identified as Gopal Maddi, L

Naik Bhawani Singh Chohan, L Nakik N G Prasad from the Jalpaiguri

jurisdiction waters, Rahul Modak and Bimal Oran from Siliguri.

In the flash flood 22 army personnel have remained missing since

the tragedy struck in the morning hours of 6 am on Wednesday.

A report said some 100 people were missing after heavy rains caused a

Himalayan glacial lake to burst its banks in north Sikkim.

Lhonak Lake in Sikkim overflowed resulting in flooding.

The flooding was greatly impacted by water released from NHPC’s

Teesta V dam. Four of the dam’s gates have washed away.

A report in 2021, published in the journal Geomorphology, said the

Lhonak Lake witnessed a significant growth in the past decades due to

glacial retreat.