At least six tourists are believed to have been killed and 80 others are still buried in snow after an avalanche struck 15th Mile on Jawaharlal Nehru road connecting Gangtok with Nathula pass at about 12: 20 pm on Tuesday according to local news portal East Mojo.

Over 150 tourists are still stranded beyond the 15th Mile area while 30 tourists who were buried under the snow have been rescued and taken to hospital.

At present, rescue operations are being carried out by Sikkim Police, Travel Agents Association of Sikkim, tourism department officials, and vehicle drivers, the East Mojo reported.

According to information shared by Inspector General for Checkpost Sonam Tenzing Bhutia, “Passes are issued for only 13th Mile, but tourists are forcefully going to 15th Mile. The incident happened in 15th mile.”