Death toll from Indian Himalayan flash floods rises to 42, scores still missing

At least 42 people were killed after a glacial lake burst its banks and triggered flash floods in the Indian Himalayas this week, government officials said as rescuers kept searching for almost 150 missing, Report informs via Reuters.

The Lhonak Lake in the mountainous northeastern state of Sikkim overflowed on Wednesday after a cloudburst triggered torrential rains and an apparent avalanche, causing major flooding in the Teesta river.

It was one of the worst disasters in the region in more than 50 years and the latest in a series of extreme weather events that have caused widespread damage in South Asia's Himalayas, blamed by scientists on climate change.

Authorities in Sikkim said the disaster, which came ahead of a popular festive and tourism season in the scenic state, had impacted the lives of 22,000 people.

Scientists and government authorities were working on an early warning system for glacial floods at Lhonak Lake which could have given people more time to evacuate if fully operational, officials involved in the project told Reuters.

Sikkim's chief secretary Vijay Bhushan Pathak, the most senior bureaucrat, said rescuers had found 20 bodies in the state and 22 in the neighbouring downstream state of West Bengal.

The 22 included six Indian military personnel who had been washed away from Sikkim. Pictures of the remaining 16 would be circulated in Sikkim to establish if they belonged to the state or to West Bengal, Pathak told Reuters.

The number of missing had risen to 142, including 15 army personnel, as people stepped up searches as the weather improved on Friday, he said.

Military helicopters made four attempts to evacuate tourists stranded in the higher reaches of the state but did not succeed due to bad weather, Pathak said, adding that they would try again on Saturday.

Bandana Chettri, a top official in the state tourism department, said all tourists, including more than 50 foreigners, were safe.