Alipurduar: Four teenagers had embarked on a boating adventure in the turbulent Torsa river in the Alipurduar district and had gone missing. The disaster management department staff sprang into action upon receiving the news and launched a search operation combing the river.
Fortunately, a day later, on Friday, the four teenagers were found safe and sound, wandering in the market of Pundibari in the neighbouring district of Cooch Behar.
Three teenagers of the same family along with their friend, all aged between 13 and 14 years, had been missing since Thursday evening. Despite searching in the houses of friends and relatives, the four could not be located. A boat owner in the neighbourhood mentioned that his boat, which had been tied at the wharf, was missing as well. This led to the suspicion that they must have taken the boat and ventured into the river. Unfortunately, the Torsa river was in spate due to incessant rain since Thursday night, raising concerns about their safety.
Upon receiving the news, the disaster management team and the police began searching the river. Their efforts continued throughout the night and resumed on Friday morning. Finally, at around 2:30 pm on Friday, a driver spotted the teenagers roaming around in the Pundibari Bazar area of Cooch Behar. The police were immediately notified, and they promptly rescued the four teenagers.
During questioning, the teenagers revealed that they had embarked on a boating adventure in the river on their own. They had even packed their daily necessities for the trip. Sonapur Outpost OC, Mingma Lama Sherpa, stated: "At around 10 pm on Thursday, we received a missing complaint for these four teens. With the help of the district administration, we conducted searches throughout the night and again on Friday.
Later, we were able to rescue these four teenagers from Pundibari. They were then handed over to their families."