Several tourists in Sikkim from Bengal go missing

Kolkata, Oct 6 (IANS) Eight members of a family from West Bengal, who were vacationing in Sikkim, have been missing for the past six days.

They went to Sikkim on October 1 and the last time their family members at Illambazar in Birbhum district could contact them was on October 3.

Those missing include two women and as many children.

According to one of their family members Mohammad Mahfouz Raman, all the missing persons were staying at a hotel at Lichen. However, because of the communication failure they lost contact with them and the hotel authorities. "We have already informed the local Illambazar police station about it. Also, we are trying to contact the state government administration so that they can help us to contact our family members or get information about them,” he said.

Meanwhile, five more members of the same family from Jhargram in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, which include two women and one child, who were holidaying in Sikkim since October 1, are also missing for the last couple of days.

Their family members in Jhargram are neither able to contact them nor get any information.

"Last time we could contact them was on the night of October 3. Since then, their mobile phones are switched off. We have contacted the state administration for help," said Arun Roth, a member of the family.

According to the state administration, so far, 17 bodies have been recovered from the overflowing Teesta at Jalpaiguri district.

The administrative officials suspect that some of the bodies might be of the 22 Indian Army personnel posted at Sikkim who went missing following the flash flood there.

"More bodies that have been flown away from the hills might be recovered at a later stage," an official from the disaster management department claimed.