Two Tripura youths still missing in Sikkim, state admin monitoring rescue operation

After four days of tragic accident, in which two tourists from Tripura along with 7 other tourists from Orissa state are still missing during a trip to North Sikkim, a tourist vehicle met with an accident and fell into a deep gorge.

After the state administration became aware of the tragic incident, the Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha actively looked into the matter and as per instruction of the Chief Minister, the Secretary, Dr. PK Chakraborty, promptly contacted the Sikkim administration. He inquired about the rescue of the missing tourists over a telephone call with the Secretary to the Chief Minister of Sikkim, K. N. Bhutia.

Speaking with media persons, secretary of Tripura Chief Minister, Dr PK Chakraborty said that it has been reported that a total of 11 tourists were in the vehicle, including two youths from Kailashahar in Unakoti district — Debjyoti Deb and Swapnanil Deb. These two young men from the state have been reported missing in the incident, which has come to the attention of the Chief Minister's Secretariat.

He said that Mr. Bhutia, in a letter to him on Monday informed that adverse weather, heavy rainfall, and the strong current of the Teesta River are hampering the efforts to retrieve the vehicle from the deep gorge and rescue the passengers. However, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is working carefully and with urgency.

According to the Sikkim administration, two minor passengers from Odisha somehow survived the incident and some broken parts of the crashed vehicle have been recovered.

Meanwhile, Dr Chakraborty has spoken with the father and a relative of one of the two tourists from the state who were in the vehicle. Family members of the missing youths have already rushed to Sikkim.

Additionally, the District Magistrate (DM) of Unakoti, Tamal Majumdar, has spoken with the NDRF team over the phone.

So far, a total of 9 people, including two from the state, are reported to be missing in this tragic accident, said Chakraborty and added that the state administration is maintaining regular communication with the Sikkim state authorities.