Gangtok,Oct. 23: Two persons died in two accidents on NH31A this morning. The survivors include 10 members of a family from Serampore, Bengal, on a trip to Sikkim.
Today around 9am, a vehicle ferrying the tourists from Darjeeling to Gangtok slid off the highway at Khani khola in Bengal, 4km from the border town of Rangpo in East Sikkim.
The driver, Topden Tshering Bhutia (24), died on the spot as the vehicle with a Bengal registration number (WB 76 3644) crashed 80ft below. One of the tourists, Nishith Dhar, has been admitted to Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital here with injuries on his neck and shoulders.
The other survivors, who include two children, are Pankaj Ghosh, Mani Mohan Ghosh, Manik Chandra Dhar, Maya Ghosh, Anamika Ghosh, Vivek Dhar, Chandrani Ghosh, Sophia Ghosh and Debolina Dhar.
The family had planned a nine-day tour of Sikkim.
In another accident that took place around the same time further downhill, Bhawna Chhetri (25) died and 11 people were injured when a Siliguri-bound jeep went off NH31A and fell into a 100ft gorge near Hatisuray.
The jeep had started off from Sidong in Sikkim. Most of its occupants were local people on their way to Siliguri. Chhetri, who hailed from Assam, had come to her uncle’s place at Lonkubustee near Kalijhora.
The driver of the jeep, Naveen Tamang, is seriously injured and has been referred to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.
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