Government rushes relief teams to quake-hit Sikkim

New Delhi: As powerful earthquakes rocked Sikkim, the Central Government swung into action, rushing specialised teams for rescue, relief and medical operations, besides mobilising the Army and Air Force.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling immediately after the quake and offered all possible help.

He directed Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth to urgently convene a meeting of the Crisis Management Group, which took stock of the situation and decided on a series of steps.

After the meeting, Seth said that two IAF planes --C-130J with four teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) -- have been sent for rescue and relief operations in Sikkim. He said five more teams of NDRF are being rushed from Kolkata.

Army units have also been mobilised and field hospitals have been activated in Sikkim, he said.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has also been mobilised for restoring normal traffic on NH-31A which connects Sikkim with rest of the country.

"The Prime Minister himself is monitoring the developments connected to the quake," Seth said after the meeting, which was attended by Secretaries of Defence, Home, Health and Information and Broadcasting, among others.

The Cabinet Secretary said the meeting discussed ways in which help could be provided to the quake-hit Sikkim in the wake of the earthquake.

"The Central Government will do everything that is necessary."

More updates on Sikkim earthquake:

# Road from Pegong to Chungthang tehsil washed away due to landslide.

# NDRF personnel are waiting for the highway to be cleared.

# Sikkim govt confirms 18 deaths. Rescue team of state has reached Mangan area of north Sikkim but they are yet to get input from Chungthang.

# Big landslides all over NH 31A - the lifeline of Sikkim. NDRF forces are still stranded in Siliguri.

# A herculean rescue operation begins as NDRF and Army battalions reach Sikkim.

# Missing vehicle including Army personnel found, all safe: Report

# 10 army Combat Engineers Columns deployed for opening major roadblocks on Siliguri-Gangtok.

Landslides stop disaster team from reaching quake-hit Sikkim

Siliguri:  Five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were unable to reach quake-hit Sikkim early on Monday as landslides damaged the national highway, snapping the hill state's only road link with the outside world.

The first team of NDRF reached Bagdogra airport in Siliguri in Sikkim's neighbouring state of West Bengal at 2 am on Monday, but were unable to proceed as national highway 31 A was damaged by landslides triggered by Sunday's powerful earthquake. 

Besides the first team, four more teams of the NDRF comprising 400 rescue personnel have also reached Siliguri but their journey to Sikkim was also halted due to landslides on the highway.

"Five teams have already reached the Bagdogra airport with relief material and medicines. They are waiting for the highway to open so they could move out of Sikkim," said Soumitro Mohan, district magistrate, Darjeeling.

The toll in Sunday's quake, which had its epicentre at the Sikkim-Nepal border and affected northern and eastern India, has risen to six in West Bengal with over 200 injured in the state's northern districts, police said early onMonday.

At least 19 people have died in Sikkim.

Around 31 people are believed to have been killed by Sunday's powerful earthquake that measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.