15 foreign tourists rescued from Quake-hit Sikkim

Gangtok, Sept 19: The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have rescued 15 foreign tourists and 150 villagers in their operations. They have been moved to battalion headquarters. ITBP's search mainly focuses on North Sikkim's Pegong area, that has been considered as the "most badly affected area".

According to the officials, the search and rescue operations are getting hampered because there is no electricity in the area. The ITBP has also lost two of its buildings. However, no casualties have been reported yet.

"Two buildings have collapsed though there has been no casualty. The officers mess too has been hit. The road outside the battalion headquarters has cracked. We have launched search and rescue operations," sources said.

The quake measuring 6.8 on Richter Scale with its epicentre in the Sikkim-Nepal border, shook the northeast and northern parts of the country, including the national capital.

OneIndia News