Tourist vehicle skids off road, plunges into Teesta

Kolkata: A tourist vehicle travelling from Siliguri towards Sikkim skidded off the road and plunged more than 100 feet into the River Teesta near the Coronation bridge on Wednesday. The vehicle, along with the passengers and the driver, has gone missing in the river. A search operation has been launched.

The incident occurred around 2 pm on Wednesday. The number plate (WB73E2940) of the vehicle, luggage, driver's wallet and driving license and wallet were found from the accident site. A search and rescue operation has been launched. NDRF, rafters and fire brigade personnel have launched the search operation. The driver (as per his PAN card) is Rajesh Rai, a resident of Bhanunagar, Sevok Road, Bhaktinagar, Siliguri. On investigation, the police found out that the Innova vehicle was carrying two tourists from Jaipur, Rajasthan. They were identified as Aman Gaur (26) and Gaurav Sharma (24).

At the time of filing the report the vehicle as well as the passengers and drivers were still untraceable.

Meanwhile, rains continued in the Hills on Wednesday with fresh landslides. There were 6 landslides reported between Rongtong and Kurseong on the NH55. The NJP-Darjeeling Darjeeling Himalayan railway services continue to be suspended. A Mazda truck and a bike were washed away in a slide in Tindharia.

On the National Highway 10 to Sikkim, landslides were reported Kalijhora, 29th Mile, Setijhora and Bhoteybhir near Rongpu. Earth movers were pressed into service and a single lane was opened up for traffic.