Another honeymoon tragedy: Newly married UP couple missing in Sikkim

Thirteen days after a tourist vehicle carrying a newlywed couple from Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh plunged into the swollen Teesta River in Sikkim, authorities have found no trace of them or six other missing passengers, TOI reported.

The couple had embarked on their honeymoon on May 24, days after tying the knot. They were among 11 people – 10 tourists and a driver – in a mini-bus returning from Chungthang to Gangtok when it lost control amid heavy rainfall on the night of May 29 and fell into the river. So far, a total of nine people, including the couple and their driver, are still untraceable, the officials said.

The couple’s families, devastated by the uncertainty, rushed to Sikkim but returned empty-handed on Tuesday after days of futile searching. Sher Bahadur, Kaushalendra’s father, along with relatives, scoured the accident site and even met the two survivors, who confirmed the couple was in the vehicle. Sher Bahadur told Pratapgarh police officials that the two surviving tourists identified the couple by looking at their photos as they were travelling in the vehicle, as reported by TOI.

Dinesh Singh, Kaushalendra’s uncle, was quoted by NewsX as saying: “While some belongings were recovered from the hotel, there is still no clear evidence to confirm if they drowned in the river. The family is shattered but still hoping for a miracle.”