Bodies of Darj duo drowned in Slovakia river brought home
Times of India | 29 August 2025
Darjeeling: More than 10 days after two Darjeeling men drowned while swimming in a river in Slovakia, the bodies of Diwakar Thapa and Samden Tamang reached Bagdogra airport on Wednesday.
The two worked at a car manufacturing company in the European country and had gone for a picnic to River Vah on Aug 16. While Samden's last rites were conducted on Thursday, Diwakar will be cremated on Friday.
An inconsolable Bidhya Thapa — Diwakar's sister — recounted how the 28-year-old Limbu Basti native had made a video call to her before getting into the river. "Six of them had gone for a picnic to the river. He called me around 7.30pm and we chatted for almost 30 minutes.
Only an hour after that... we've been told that he drowned at 9pm. He went to Slovakia only a year back," said Bidhya. Diwakar is survived by his sister and father.
Samden's uncle Robin Syangbo had gone to Delhi for the documentation required to bring the bodies back. "The Vah was only about a kilometre from their residence, and they often visited it. A day before the incident, Samden had called me. Unfortunately, I was busy and could not take the call."
Takdah native Samden is survived by his father, mother and two brothers.
Syangbo went on to say, "We thank Rajya Sabha member Harsh Vardhan Shringla and his organisation, the Darjeeling Welfare Society, for helping us bring the bodies back."
Shringla had earlier played a key role during the Covid pandemic by coordinating the safe return of Darjeeling residents stranded in the Gulf. Recounting that, social activist Sisir Moktan said, "Financially, it was almost impossible for the two families to bring the bodies back. But with the Society's efforts, the process was expedited."
Samden's uncle Robin Syangbo said, ‘The Vah was only about a kilometre from their residence, and they often visited it. A day before the incident, Samden had called me. Unfortunately, I could not take the call'.