A seven-year-old child died, and five others were injured after a mortar shell exploded in the Chhapadanga area of Jalpaiguri district, police said.
The incident took place barely hours after the Sikkim Government issued an advisory urging people not to pick up any explosives or ammunition found in the Teesta basin.
According to police, the shell exploded at Chhapadanga in the Kranti block of Jalpaiguri district on October 5 evening. The deceased was identified as 7-year-old Sahinur Alam.
Sharing details of the incident, a police officer said, “A few children had gone to collect firewood near the Teesta River when they came upon a mortar shell floating in the waters. They picked it up and brought it home. It is believed that the shell belonged to the Indian Army and got swept away by the river after the cloudburst on October 4 night.”
“The five injured persons in the incident were shifted to the Jalpaiguri Hospital and North Bengal Hospital where they are currently undergoing treatment,” the officer informed.
Further details are awaited.
The Sikkim Government had earlier warned people that explosives and ammunition might be found along the banks of the Teesta River after an ammunition depot of the army in North Sikkim was affected by the flash floods.
“The local population is hereby warned that explosives or ammunition may be found along the Teesta basin. These ammunitions should not be handled or picked up since they may explode and cause grievous injuries,” read an advisory issued by the State Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department on October 5.
Earlier on September 29, the State Disaster Management Authority confirmed that at least 19 people, including six army personnel, have perished in the flash floods in Sikkim.
The search for the missing people is ongoing in areas downstream of Teesta River.
Efforts are also underway to locate 16 missing soldiers in Sikkim, officials informed.
Sikkim Chief Secretary Vijay Bhushan Pathak informed on September 29, “As per the checkpost data available, around 3,000 people are stranded in Lachen and Lachung. They include 700-800 drivers and about 150 people, who had visited these places on two-wheelers. We are in the process of evacuating all stranded people using choppers of the Army and the Indian Air Force.”
South Lhonak Lake, situated in North West Sikkim, experienced a cloudburst and rainfall, triggering flash floods on October 4 morning.
The flash floods gobbled up the Indreni bridge in Singtam town, some 30 kilometers from Gangtok, the district administration in Gangtok informed. Another connecting bridge of Balutar hamlet was also swept away around 4 am.
(with inputs from ANI)
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