Apr. 5: 7 people, including 3 Nepalese, died in an avalanche that happened on the Gangtok-Nathu La JNM Road in northern Sikkim. According to the Indin Press, the avalanche struck the 14th mile on Jawaharlal Nehru Road connecting Gangtok to Nathu La pass.
As per the statement issued by Tushar G Nikhare, the District Collector in Gangtok, these three Nepalese were Shiva Prasad Lamichhane and Ashika Dhakal, 22, of Chitwan and Muna Shah Shrestha, 29, of Rupandehi.
The natural disaster has also left 13 people, all Indian nationals, injured. The injured are receiving treatment at STNM Hospital in Gangtok. 20 survivors were pulled from the snow before calling off their search as bad weather closed in and darkness fell.
Avalanches have killed at least 120 people in the Indian Himalayas over the past two years. Nathu La serves as a route for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in China, considered one of the holiest pilgrimages in Hinduism.
