KALIMPONG/BHUBANESWAR/KENDRAPADA: One person was killed and eight tourists – including BJP’s Odisha Mahila Morcha secretary Itishree Jena – went missing after their vehicle plummeted into the Teesta river in Sikkim on Thursday evening.The accident occurred on the stretch between Chungthang and Munshithang. Of the 11 people travelling in the vehicle, six were from Jena’s family. One of Jena’s sons and her nephew have been rescued, said Jajpur MP Rabindra Narayan Behera. Her other son is among those missing.Mangan SP Sonam Detchu Bhutia on Friday said six tourists from Odisha and four from Tripura, along with their driver, were travelling from Lachen to Lachung in North Sikkim when the vehicle skidded off the road and fell into the river. He said two boys – Swayam Supratim Nayak, 19, and Sairaj Jena, 17, survived as both were caught on a tree when the vehicle plunged into the river. Later, they were rescued. Bhutia said a body was seen floating in the river, but an operation to look for the missing was hampered due to inclement weather and heavy currents in the river. The identity of the deceased was yet to be ascertained, he added. Itishree’s elder brother Sishir Nayak, who was travelling in another vehicle at the time of the accident, said Itishree, along with her children, brothers, and sisters, travelled to New Jalpaiguri from Jajpur Road by train on May 25 to visit Sikkim. The missing included Itishree, her 20-year-old son Sahil, her brother Ajit Nayak, and his wife Sunita, said Sishir. Family sources said Itishree had pushed her son Sairaj out of the vehicle before it plunged into the river. Ajit did the same to save Supratim. Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has spoken to Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang regarding rescue operations, medical treatment, and the safe return of the tourists. A special team from Odisha has been dispatched to Sikkim to coordinate relief efforts.Tamang took to social media to express sorrow over the incident. “I am deeply saddened by the tragic road accident… My heartfelt prayers are with the victims and their families during this extremely difficult time,” he said.
