Siliguri trekker, last spotted a week ago, goes missing in Sikkim
Times of India | 29 April 2025
123456 Kolkata: A trekker from Siliguri, Sandeep Roy (39), headed to Goecha La—a high mountain pass in Gyalshing district of Sikkim—has been missing for a week. He was last spotted around 3.30 pm on April 21 on a motion-sensing camera near Thangsing, set up by the forest department. Several searches have so far failed to trace Roy.
Roy, a resident of Kadamtala, Ranidunga, along with seven others, set off on the trek from Yuksom on April 19 and crossed Dzongri Pass on the third day.
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"The weather was fine and visibility was good on the fourth day. Roy was at a moderate speed till late afternoon," said Sanjeev Limboo, owner of Smile Sikkim Treks, which deputed a guide and other crew members for the trek.
On April 21, the team was near Thangsing, a campsite at 13,000 ft. His team members and the guide reportedly saw Roy walking but when they reached the campsite, he could not be found anywhere. The guide thought he might have gone ahead to reach the Lamune campsite ahead of them.
Lamune is located at an ascent of 6 km and relatively an easy stretch to cover. The team left Thangsing after 30 minutes and reached Lamune before evening.
Roy was supposed to share a tent at Lamune with two others. "The guide spotted him missing during dinner time. He immediately left for the Namsing area and started looking for him. But he could not trace Roy. Later, we came to know that a motion-sensing camera last spotted him around 3.30 pm near the Thangsing area," Limboo said. While the entire team came down the next day, authorities launched a search and rescue operation, mobilising local cops, rescue personnel and volunteers from nearby villages.
His team members reached Yuksom on April 24 evening. "This is not the first case of a missing trekker in the area. Even earlier, there had been an incident, in which no trace could be found of another trekker," said Limboo.