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Nine tourists missing, 2 rescued after vehicle falls into swollen Sikkim river
Police superintendent Sonam Detchu Bhutia said that rescuers from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the fire brigade, and the Sikkim Police were looking for the missing tourists
Nine tourists from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Tripura were missing after the vehicle they were travelling in plunged into the swollen Teesta river in Sikkim’s Mangan late on Thursday, a police officer said on Friday.
“Two of the tourists were rescued last [Thursday] night,” said police superintendent Sonam Detchu Bhutia. He added that rescuers from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the fire brigade, and the Sikkim Police were looking for the missing tourists. “We can see a dead body, but we are not in a position to retrieve it as the river is swollen and the water level is on the rise,” Bhutia said. He added that the tourists from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Tripura were travelling from Lachen to Lachung.
In a social media post, Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang said: “I am deeply saddened by the tragic road accident that occurred on May 29 near Chubombu in between Lachen and Lachung in Mangan district.”
