Indian rescue copters are flying into region where flood washed out bridges and killed at least 52

GANGTOK, India (AP) — Air force helicopters were able to land Monday to rescue people in India's Himalayan northeast after a 6-year-old hydroelectric dam cracked open last week in intense rain, flooding a valley with glacial lake water and washing away bridges and homes as thousands fled.

Police said rescuers have found 52 bodies so far, and the search was continuing while around a 100 people are still missing. As weather conditions improved in Sikkim state, helicopters arrived in the worst-hit Mangan district to help some 3,000 stranded tourists.

The design and placement of the Teesta 3 dam, the biggest hydroelectric dam in Sikkim state, were controversial from the time it was built. A 2019 report identified Lhonak Lake as “highly vulnerable” to flooding that could breach dams and cause extensive damage.

It wasn’t clear what triggered the deadly flood that began early Wednesday, the latest to hit northeast India in a year of unusually heavy monsoon rains. Experts say possible contributors were the intense rain and a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck neighboring Nepal on Tuesday afternoon.