Tourist vehicle falls 1000 feet into Teesta River in North Sikkim, 1 dead and 9 missing

A tourist vehicle carrying 11 people lost control and fell approximately 1000 feet into the Teesta River on the Chungthang-Munsithang road in North Sikkim on Thursday night. The vehicle had 10 tourists and one driver on board. The tourists, residents of Kolkata and Odisha, were returning after visiting various scenic locations in North Sikkim when the accident occurred around 9 PM amid heavy rainfall.

Local residents first noticed the accident and immediately began rescue efforts. Sikkim Police arrived at the scene soon after and called the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for assistance. Rescue operations started late at night, and two critically injured tourists were rescued and sent to a hospital in Gangtok. One of the injured tourists later died. Nine tourists remain missing as search efforts continue.

Rescue operations faced difficulties due to adverse weather and challenging mountainous terrain. The search was temporarily affected by the natural conditions but resumed early Friday morning. Teams from the ITBP, Sikkim Police, and local volunteers are working continuously to locate the missing tourists.

Preliminary reports from the Sikkim Police indicate that the vehicle lost control while negotiating a bend on the wet and slippery hill road. The accident happened during heavy rain, which is believed to have contributed to the vehicle’s loss of control. The ongoing search and rescue operation remains active.