5 youths dead as vehicle plunges at least 500 feet in Kurseong

Darjeeling: What started as a holiday ended in a disaster resulting in the death of all 5 youths who had gone for a visit to Kurseong on Independence Day.

The vehicle they were travelling in (WB 74 AG8823) plunged at least 500 feet from the road into a gorge at Kargildanra, Kurseong. All the 5 dead bodies have been recovered.

Subrata Das, Vikram Das, Rishab Das and Arghanil Kundu along with Raj Singh of Siliguri had gone for a drive on Independence Day.

They had first visited Malbazar and Lataguri forest in Dooars.

"On the same day at around 5pm they returned home and then decided to visit Kurseong, 40 km away. They left for Kurseong in the evening. After visiting Kurseong they were returning to Siliguri at around 11:30 pm. This is the last time the families had heard from them. After that all their cell phones went out of reach," stated Rinki Das, Ward Coordinator, Ward 22, Rothkhola, Siliguri.

On Sunday afternoon, the families filed a missing diary at the Siliguri police station. On Sunday night they received information from the Siliguri police station that there had been an accident at Kurseong.

The families were sent photographs of the two dead bodies recovered from the Kurseong accident. They were identified as two, among the 5 from Siliguri. The families then rushed to Kurseong.

"The accident occurred late night at Kargildanra on Rohini Road, Kurseong. Police and fire brigade personnel conducted search and rescue operations. Two bodies were recovered on Sunday night. Two bodies were recovered by 11 am on Monday. The body of Raj Singh was recovered at around 4pm on Monday," stated Manoranjan Das, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kurseong. The vehicle has not yet been recovered.

Subrata Das, Vikram Das, Rishab Das and Arghanil Kundu were college students in their early twenties.

They were residents of Rathkhola, Siliguri. Raj Singh aged 16 was a class 10 student. He was a resident of Babupara in Siliguri.