Five Hooghly tourists die in Sikkim accident

Darjeeling: A summer holiday ended in a fatal car accident leaving 5 tourists dead and two seriously injured. The tourists were from Hooghly district.

On Sunday, the accident took place while returning to Gangtok after visiting Baba Mandir in a tempo. "Around 6:40pm, on Sunday, the vehicle lost control and plunged 400 feet down in the 7th Mile area, around 10 km from Gangtok. Five person died and 2 are seriously injured," said Thendup Bhutia, Officer-in-Charge, Sherathang, Sikkim. Local residents and police launched a rescue operation. Four persons died on the spot and one person succumbed to injuries at the hospital. The deceased were Kakali Bose (42) Shnehasish Bose (58) Soma Kar (32) Sandeep Kar (44) and Subhajit Bose (26). The injured are Mahua Patra (21) and her nephew Surjyas Kar (5). They have been admitted at the STNM Hospital in Sokethang.

The tourists are from Haripal, Hooghly. A few days ago they had arrived in Sikkim for summer vacations. On Sunday they had gone for local sightseeing to Changu Lake.

"There was dense fog and visibility was very low. Suddenly, there was a bend. I had applied the brakes but the vehicle slid down the gorge," said Suresh Tamang, the driver who is at present in hospital.

He said there were nine persons in the vehicle, including him. There were 7 tourists and a local resident. Relatives of the deceased have reached Sikkim. The bodies have been handed over to them. The bodies will be taken back to Hooghly on Tuesday. "We are in constant touch with the Sikkim Government. All possible help and cooperation will be extended to the family members of the deceased so that the dead bodies can be brought back" said Goutam Deb, Tourism Minister.