The death toll in the earthquake rose to 19 in Sikkim on Monday as the army took lead of rescue operations along with the local administration, officials said.
The casualties have occurred mostly in the North District and in towns and villages like Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang located along the course of Teesta river, they said.
Rescue teams were deployed for various affected areas this morning, the officials said.
Many buildings in and around Gangtok have collapsed and around 85 per cent structures and houses have developed cracks due to the 6.8 magnitude quake, officials said. Most areas in north Sikkim have been cut-off from the rest of the country as roads were blocked and all communication lines got snapped.
All BSNL telephone landlines are dead here since last evening. In Gangtok, power was restored this morning after residents spent the night outside their houses in fear of aftershocks.
At least 20 aftershocks throughout the night created panic in the city. The Sadar police station in Gangtok was also badly damaged due to the impact of the tremor.
The epicentre of the quake, the biggest in two decades was located at Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 km from Gangtok on the Sikkim-Nepal border.