MANGAN (SIKKIM), Sept 20 � More than 3,000 people were rescued in quake-hit areas of Sikkim by defence forces that scrambled hard to clear debris of collapsed structures and landslides as the death toll in Sunday�s powerful temblor shot up to 92, including 53 in the Himalayan state, reports PTI.
Of the 53, 36 people died in the district of North Sikkim, 12 in East Sikkim, four in West Sikkim and one in South Sikkim, a Relief Control Room official said in Gangtok.
The National Highway 31-A from Mangan to Gangtok, 65 km from here, was closed due to blockades caused by heavy landslides but an alternative road was reopened to help rescue teams reach the worst-affected areas.
A PTI correspondent who went around some of the quake-hit areas in and around Mangan found people in a state of shock, many afraid to enter their houses which have either developed cracks, tilted perilously or partially collapsed.
�If there is another tremor, my house will collapse. So we are waiting out in the open,� said 74-year-old Dengji Sherpa surrounded by his family and villagers at Lachan. Some others were seen trying to retrieve household goods from the debris.
The toll in Sunday�s 6.8 magnitude strong earthquake has mounted to 92. Besides 53 in Sikkim, the toll has gone up to 12 in West Bengal, nine in Bihar and 11 in Nepal. There was no change in yesterday�s figure of seven deaths in Tibet. As aftershocks continued, people were seen squatting on roadsides, public places and near temples. Using helicopters, heavy lift transport aircraft and infantry troops, defence forces rescued more than 3000 people in the quake-hit areas of Sikkim and intensified efforts to extricate people trapped under the debris of collapsed structures.
