New Delhi: In a horrific accident, a vehicle carrying 11 tourists fell into the Teesta river in North Sikkim’s Mangan district. According to reports, the accident has killed one person and injured two while eight others are missing.
The accident reportedly occurred on the night of May 29 when the vehicle was going from Lachen to Lachung. It fell almost 1,000 feet into the Teesta river, at a precarious turn on the mountainous route and the turn is known for being a zone prone to accidents. As per the police, one body has been recovered and two critically injured person have been rescued so far.
Sonam Detchu Bhutia, the Superintendent of Police of Mangan said that eight people are still missing at the time of writing this copy. The injured people have been taken to Gangtok’s STNM Hospital for treatment. Response teams went to spot quickly after receiving the information of the accident. The team includes the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sikkim Police, and local administration. Rescue operations began late night with the challenging terrain and weather conditions posing significant problems.
Teams are trying to trace the vehicle in the deep gorge and rescue efforts are going on at full scale. Also, divers and high-altitude rescue units have been mobilised. The weather in North Bengal has been bad for the last few days. Sikkim is experiencing heavy rain along with fog. The Alipore Meteorological Department has said that the monsoon has entered North Bengal.
In April, around 1,000 tourists were stranded in North Sikkim following landslides caused by heavy rain. Around 200 tourist vehicles were stranded at Chungthang and the occupants were staying in a Gurudwara there. Road access to Lachung and Lachen were severely affected, which left around 1,000 tourists stranded.
