Three days on, hope fades as 8 tourists still missing after Sikkim tragedy

Despite a high-intensity, multi-agency search operation continuing for the third consecutive day, there is still no trace of the eight missing individuals who vanished after a tourist SUV plunged nearly 1,000 feet into the Teesta River in North Sikkim on the night of May 29.

The tragic accident occurred around 8 p.m. on the Lachen–Chungthang stretch between Chubambu and Munshithang. The ill-fated vehicle, en route from Lachen to Lachung, was carrying 11 people—including 10 tourists from Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, and Odisha, and a local driver—when it skidded off the road and into the gorge.

Two teenage boys—17-year-old Sairaj Jena, who sustained a punctured lung, and his cousin Swayam Supratim Nayak, now battling brain haemorrhage—were rescued hours later and are currently being treated at STNM Hospital, Gangtok.

Among the missing is Itishri Jena, 46, General Secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Odisha, who was travelling with her two sons, brothers, and their families. Sairaj is her younger son.

Speaking from Mangan, Sisir Nayak, brother of the missing BJP leader, said the group was split between two vehicles. "Our vehicle was ahead. The other one just disappeared from sight as we neared Chungthang. We tried calling them, but there was no response. Later, the ITBP and police helped us locate the two boys near the riverbank. They may have jumped out before the vehicle fell."

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The grim search continues amid rising water levels and adverse weather. Sonam Detchu Bhutia, SP of Mangan district, confirmed that while the vehicle was initially visible, the swelling Teesta has now completely submerged it. “We recovered mobile phones and ID cards from the site, but not a single trace of the missing passengers,” he stated.

One body was spotted on a cliffside, but recovery has been impossible due to treacherous terrain and flooding. “We tried rope rescue and even river crossing with a lifeboat, but the location is unreachable,” Bhutia added.

Families of the missing, camped at Mangan, remain in anguish. The ongoing rains have damaged stretches of the Mangan–Chungthang road, forcing rescuers to trek to the accident site on foot. Despite a May 22 advisory limiting traffic movement in the region, officials clarified the accident took place on a different, relatively safer route.

The driver, identified as Passang D. Sherpa of Singhik, Mangan, is among the missing. Police have registered a case under Sections 281, 106, 125A, and 125B of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, at Chungthang Police Station. Investigations are underway, with officials waiting on a GREF report for technical analysis.

For now, the Teesta River continues to surge as families cling to hope—and Sikkim reels from one of the most harrowing tourist tragedies in recent memory.