A total of 176 tourists were on Tuesday airlifted from North Sikkim, which has been ravaged by a flash flood in the Teesta river, Chief Secretary VB Pathak said.

With this, a total of 690 tourists, including 26 foreigners, have been rescued by air from the Lachen and Lachung towns in North Sikkim by the Indian Air Force (IAF) since Monday, he said.