At least seven people were killed in an avalanche that struck India’s northeastern state of Sikkim on Tuesday.

According to theAssociated Press, the Indian army said that at least 23 tourists were rescued and 11 injured after the avalanche hit them as they traveled near the Nathu La mountain pass between Sikkim and Tibet.

PerReuters, eight of the rescued are listed in critical condition.

“We are doing one more check before calling off the rescue operation since it is getting dark and some more snow has started coming down,” senior police official Tenzing Loden Lepcha told the outlet.

Lepcha toldCNNthat rescue operations were ongoing. PerCBS News, officials believed the death toll could rise to 20 or 30, though how many people were trapped under the snow is unknown.

The incident occurred when travelers stopped to take photographs near a stream, Lepcha told Reuters. It is unclear whether some had left their vehicles before the avalanche hit.

PHOTO: INDIAN ARMY/AFP via GettyPHOTO: Indian Army via AP

This handout photograph taken on April 4, 2023 and released by the Indian Army shows rescue workers gather at the site of avalanche that hit the Gangtok-Natu La road in India’s north-eartern state Sikkim. - Seven people were killed April 4 after an avalanche in the Indian Himalayas struck on the road to a popular tourist destination at the Chinese border, officials said.

In this handout photo released by the Indian Army, soldiers clear snow from an avalanche near Nathu La mountain pass in India’s Sikkim state, Tuesday, April, 4, 2023. An avalanche swept away a group of tourists in the Himalayas in northeastern India on Tuesday, killing at least six and injuring 11 others, officials and news reports said.

Footage of the rescue operation was posted to social media, and oneclipappeared to show a man being carried after being pulled from the snow.

Indian Army via AP

In this handout photo released by the Indian Army, soldiers clear snow from an avalanche near Nathu La mountain pass in India’s Sikkim state, Tuesday, April, 4, 2023. An avalanche swept away a group of tourists in the Himalayas in northeastern India on Tuesday, killing at least six and injuring 11 others, officials and news reports said.

Reuters reported that 350 stranded tourists and 80 vehicles were rescued after the snow was cleared from the road.

Last year, 27 trainee mountaineers died in an avalanche in the northern Uttarakhand region, the outlet reported.

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According to CBS News, over 24 people were killed in February 2021 when a Himalayan glacier collapsed in Uttarakhand.

In 2013, more than 6,000 people were killed, listed as missing or presumed dead when monsoon rains caused flooding in the area.

source: people.com