Battling landslides and torrential rains in quake-hit Sikkim, rescue teams got into full swing today as the death toll in the 6.8 magnitude temblor mounted to 71, including 41 in the Himalayan state.
An earthquake, with the epicentre in Sikkim, measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, hits large parts of northern and eastern India on Sunday. Check out these photos.
Last evening''s earthquake with its epicentre near the border with Nepal, left a trail of devastation damaging roads, buildings and other structures, uprooting mobile phone towers and snapping communication and power lines.
After shocks made people panic in several areas forcing them to spend the night outdoors.
The death toll may go up. Union Home Secretary R K Singh said nothing can be ruled out as people may still be trapped under the debris of collapsed houses since rescue teams were still trying hard to reach all villages.
Food packets were air dropped in the inaccessible quake-affected areas.
Two medical teams with doctors and paramedics reached worst affected Mangan and Sangthan with the help of helicopters and Border Roads Organisation has been able to reopen the Himalayan state''s life line-the National Highway 31-A, Singh said.
West and South districts in Sikkim remained mostly inaccessible to the Army in the earlier part of the day due to landslides and inclement weather and rescuers were facing an uphill task to reach these areas, Major General S L Narasimhan, GOC 17 Mountain Division, said.
Sikkim accounted for 41 deaths alone, with most casualties taking place in the North District and in towns and villages like Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang located along the course of Teesta river, officials in the district control room said.
The Home Secretary said ten bodies of employees of Teesta Hydro Electric Project were recovered from the debris in Singtam.
The overnight toll included nine deaths in West Bengal and seven each in Bihar, Nepal and Tibet, official reports said. Over a hundred people have been injured.
A Buddhist monk looks at the rubble where his home stood at Enchey Monastery in Gangtok on September 19, 2011 after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the region.
People walk past a crack on the road in Gangtok on September 19, 2011 after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the region.
In this handout photograph released by India's Indo Tibetan Border Police, ITBP officials from 11th battalion inspect damage to a building in Pegong on September 19, 2011.
Residents gather outdoors for safety following an earthquake in Gangkok on September 19, 2011.
Local people watch a collapsed house damaged by Sunday's earthquake in Bhaktapur about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011
Nepalese people try to take out a motorbike buried under the debris of a house damaged by Sunday's earthquake in Bhaktapur about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.
Nepalese people take out a motorbike buried under the debris of a house damaged by Sunday's earthquake in Bhaktapur about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.
A Nepalese woman removes bricks of the damaged house to make way for pedestrians after an earthquake in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.
Nepalese woman looks out of a window at debris of collapsed buildings damaged by Sunday's earthquake in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.
A man looks out a crack of a house damaged by Sunday's earthquake in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. Rescue workers raced Monday to clear roads blocked by mudslides as they scrambled to reach remote villages cut off after the powerful earthquake shook northeast India, Nepal and Tibet.
Nepalese locals along with policemen stand near collapsed buildings damaged by Sunday's earthquake in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.
Nepalese police look for victims in a house collapsed after Sunday's earthquake in Bhaktapur about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.
Nepalese resident Shuvadra Pathi looks out from her apartment after a house wall collapsed in an earthquake in Kathmandu on September 19, 2011.
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Two aftershocks, of magnitude 6.1 and 5.3 were also felt in Sikkim.
A house, that has been destroyed by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Kathmandu, is seen in Bhaktapur
The main entrance of a house, that has been destroyed by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Kathmandu, is seen in Bhaktapur
Members of the Nepalese army gather around a damaged car after the wall surrounding the British Embassy collapsed on top of the car that was passing by
The bodies of Bir Bahadur Maji (L), 35, Sajan Shrestha (C), 36, and Asmita Shrestha, 8, lie on a hospital bed after they lost their lives when the wall surrounding the British Embassy collapsed during the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Kathmandu
A man shows the cracks that developed on the walls of his house following the earthquake.
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People in Delhi rushed out of their houses as the earthquake hit north India.
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In Assam's Guwahati, people panicked and ran out on the streets after the quake shook their homes.
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