Emergency quota in Indian Railways: Indian Railways (IR) provides several booking quotas, including the Emergency Quota (EQ), to meet the urgent travel needs of specific categories of passengers. However, the quota is not open to everyone and is reserved for only certain categories of passengers
Tawang Tragedy: Kerala Tourist Dead, Other Missing Amid Heroic Rescue Efforts
Tawang Tragedy: Kerala Tourist Dead, Other Missing Amid Heroic Rescue Efforts On Frozen Sela Lake | SHOCKING Video
A holiday turned fatal at Sela Lake, Tawang, as a 26-year-old tourist from Kerala drowned and another remains missing. Despite SDRF and Army rescue efforts, the sub-zero temperatures and fragile ice have hampered the search for Mahadev (24).
A trip to the mountains proved disastrous on Friday, 16th of January of 2026, as two Kerala visitors choked in the Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh. While the body of one victim has been found, a massive search operation is on in progress for finding the other person.
The accident took place on Friday afternoon when a seven-member tourist team from the state of Kerala, who had come to the state through Guwahati and were traveling to the town of Tawang, visited the beautiful Sela Lake.
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Incident: One of the parties was said to have traversed onto the surface of a frozen lake, which was over 13,000 feet high, when the ice gave way.
The Rescue Attempt: Realizing that his friend was struggling in the sub-zero water, Dinu, 26, and Mahadev, 24, rushed into action and jumped into the lake to save him.
The Outcome: While the actual tourist managed to make it out to safety, Dinu and Mahadev got swept away underneath the thick, unsteady ice layer and did not resurface.
#BreakingNews: Tawang #ArunachalPradesh | @A_suryavanshi_ @theanupamajha pic.twitter.com/5C91JZCrJQ — Zee News (@ZeeNews) January 17, 2026
The authorities in Tawang district were notified around 3:00 PM, and a rescue team was formed by the Indian Army, State Disaster Response Force, and police.
Recovery: The body of Dinu was finally recovered late Friday evening by army divers and local forces in spite of poor visibility and freezing temperatures.
Search for Mahadev: However, the search process for the second missing tourist, Mahadev, had to be called off for Friday night due to the fading light and extreme temperatures that ranged below zero.
Resumption: The operations were reinstated at 8:00 AM on Saturday, 17th January, with specialized teams scanning the frozen waters.
Superintendent of Police DW Thongon specifically noted that the incident happened despite following health standards.
Strict Advisories: The district administration had earlier issued a formal advisory in December, warning the visiting public that frozen water bodies were extremely unstable and lacked the capacity to sustain the weight of human beings.
Warning Signs: There are warning signs erected around the area of Sela strictly warning the public not to walk on the ice.
Public Safety Appeal: Since the accident, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has again appealed to tourists to be careful and avoid going on frozen lakes.
The body that was recovered, that of Dinu, is now in the Jang Community Health Centre, where a post-mortem examination is planned for the following Saturday. The rest of the tourist party is taken care of in an army camp.
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Source: ZeeNews
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Emergency quota in Indian Railways: Indian Railways (IR) provides several booking quotas, including the Emergency Quota (EQ), to meet the urgent travel needs of specific categories of passengers. However, the quota is not open to everyone and is reserved for only certain categories of passengers
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