West Bengal: 40 Tourists Evacuated Following Heavy Snowfall in Sandakphu

Darjeeling: A total of 37 tourists, stranded in various homestays and hotels in West Bengal's Sandakphu holiday destination following heavy snowfall, were evacuated to safer locations, a Darjeeling district official said on Friday. The road connecting Sandakphu with Manebhanjan on the way to Darjeeling was under a foot of snow in some places, hampering the flow of traffic. 

Speaking to PTI over the phone, District Magistrate Dr Preeti Goyal said that the district administration and police authorities, on Thursday, successfully evacuated 37 tourists who had been stranded in Sandakphu over the past few days due to snowfall. He added that the snowfall was continuing on Friday and that the whole area was under a thick blanket of snow.

Situated at a height of 11,930 feet on the Singalila ridge in the Himalayas, Sandakphu offers a majestic view of the Kanchenjunga, Everest, Makalu and Lhotse peaks.

Darjeeling town, popularly described as the queen of the hills, recorded 31.2 mm rainfall in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Friday as the minimum temperature settled at 5.6 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning has been forecast by the Met for the next five days in the sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar.

With inputs from PTI.