Himachal: Body of tourist who fell in river while clicking selfie retrieved

Shimla, Dec 18 (PTI) The body of a tourist who fell in a river in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti while clicking a selfie was retrieved on Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place on Tuesday when Nikhil Kumar, 28, a resident of Rajasthan, was taking a photograph of himself near Fuman nullah on the banks of the Chandra River, they said.

Soon after getting information, teams from the local police, National Disaster Response Force, mountaineering institute, fire department and others launched a rescue operation in temperatures ranging from minus 13 to 19 degrees Celsius, Superintendent of Police, Lahaul and Spiti, Mayank Chaudhary said.

The operation went on till late Tuesday, he said. Kumar’s body was found on Wednesday morning 500 metres away from the spot from where he had slipped, he said.

Chaudhary advised tourists visiting Lahaul and Spiti to follow the advisories of staying away from rivers, rivulets, and cliffs and be cautious of driving on black ice.

In May, a tourist from Madhya Pradesh — Ruchi Tiwari — slipped and fell into the Beas River near Manali while clicking selfies in Himachal’s Kullu district while another person accompanying the woman jumped into the torrid waters to save the woman. Both of them died.

A week later, two more tourists, Aanchal, 17, and Meenu, 24, belonging to the same family drowned in the Beas River near Manali as they slipped into the river while taking photographs, officials said.

Despite various sign boards set up by the administration discouraging people from going near rivers, tourists continue to endanger their lives just for a few photographs, rued a government employee.