Nine killed as vehicle falls into river in Sikkim

Nine people were killed when a vehicle went off the road and fell into a river along the Jorethang-Melli highway in South Sikkim, police said today.

The vehicle was heading towards Siliguri from Singla in West Bengal, having accessed Sikkim from the Nayabazar route when it fell into the river Ranjeet from a height yesterday during heavy rains, they said.

A rescue team led by the sub-divisional police officer of Melli, Nedup Tshering and officer-in-charge of Jorethang police station S Shenga recovered the nine bodies.

Police said there were tyre marks of another vehicle also falling into the Rangeet river.

Also the mobile phone of Roshan Dhanuka, who was driving a vehicle in the area and was missing since yesterday, was found that suggests that his car met with an accident and also fell into the river and was probably swept away by the strong currents, they said.

A search operation has been launched to trace the vehicle and Roshan, police said.