In an unfortunate incident, at least three persons, including two tourists from Kota in Rajasthan and a driver, were feared dead when their vehicle plunged into the swollen Teesta River in the Darjeeling hills Wednesday afternoon.
The SUV was going to Gangtok in Sikkim from Bagdogra airport in Siliguri when it went off the road when the driver apparently lost control and fell into the river near Coronation Bridge, about 23 km from Siliguri.
Some eyewitnesses said the accident occurred when the driver tried to overtake a car. The hilly area has been experiencing rain over the past four days which worsened the road condition.
“The Teesta is in spate and rescue teams including National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), state’s disaster management personnel and local people are trying to trace the vehicle,” said Amaranth K, superintendent of police, Darjeeling.
The missing tourists were identified as Aman Gaur (26) and Gourav Sharma (24) according to information from the travel agency that arranged the vehicle.
The number plate of the car and a suitcase were recovered from the accident site.
Rakesh Rai (34) a resident of Bhanu Nagar, Siliguri, was the driving the SUV.
