Security personnel rescue tourist

DARJEELING: A 62-year-old tourist from Kolkata, who had gone missing between Phalut and Sandakphu along the Indo-Nepal border, was rescued from the forest by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on Wednesday.

A 10-member group had arrived from Kolkata on February 26 at Siliguri. They stayed in a lodge in Phalut in the Singhalila National Park on March 1. When they had started trekking from Phalut to Sandakphu on March 2, Shambhu Nath Roy Chowdhury had gone missing from an area, 2km from the forest check post at Molley. Chowdhury is a retired employee of the Income Tax department. He is a resident of Ward 9, Netaji Nagar, Kolkata. The group started searching for him. They came across a SSB patrolling party.

The Commander of the patrolling party informed the other border outposts. On March 3, multiple search parties of the SSB set out in search of the missing tourist from Phalut, Thakum and Molley. On Wednesday, the search party from Molley found Chowdhury in a semi-conscious state in the forest. After his condition stabilised, he was brought to the main road to Sandakphu. He was then handed over to the tourist group.