Two Kerala tourists drown in Arunachal’s Sela Lake; one body recovered, search on

Two tourists from Kerala drowned in Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district on January 16, with the body of one of them recovered while search operations continue for the other, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Dinu (26), while Mahadev (24) remains missing. Both were part of a seven-member tourist group that had arrived in Tawang via Guwahati, Superintendent of Police D W Thongon said.

According to the SP, the incident occurred in the afternoon when one member of the group accidentally slipped into the frozen lake and began to drown. Dinu and Mahadev entered the icy water in an attempt to rescue him. While the third tourist managed to come out safely, the two were swept under the frozen surface.

The district administration received information about the incident around 3 pm, following which a joint rescue operation was launched involving the district police, central forces, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Despite difficult weather conditions and low visibility, rescuers managed to recover the body of one tourist. The search for the missing person was suspended due to darkness and harsh conditions and is scheduled to resume on Saturday morning.

The recovered body has been kept at the Jang Community Health Centre, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted on Saturday.

The SP said warning signboards have been installed at Sela Lake and other tourist locations, clearly advising visitors not to walk on frozen water bodies. He added that the district administration had issued an advisory in December, cautioning tourists that frozen lakes are unsafe, as the ice can be unstable and may not support human weight.

Located at an altitude of over 13,000 feet, Sela Lake is a major tourist attraction but poses serious risks during winter due to extreme cold and fragile ice cover.