Bhubaneswar: An army jawan from Odisha is among 23 soldiers who went missing in flash floods caused by a sudden cloudburst in Sikkim.
The Odia jawan has been identified as Saroj Kumar Das. He is a resident of Kendudhipa village under Kamakhyanagar police station in Dhenkanal.
Das served as a havildar in the Indian Army. He had been recruited in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) wing of the Indian army in 2012.
A sudden cloud burst over the Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta River in Lachen Valley.
The floods started around 1.30 AM. As many as 23 army personnel have been reported missing and some vehicles submerged under the slush.
Flash floods in Sikkim were compounded by the release of water from the Chungthang dam that led to a sudden increase in water levels up to 15-20 feet high downstream.
