Two Kerala Tourists Drown After Slipping into Frozen Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh

PTI, ITANAGAR, JAN 17, 2026: Two tourists from Kerala drowned in the Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district on Friday, police said.

The body of one of them was recovered late in the evening on Friday, while the body of the second tourist was recovered on Saturday morning.

The deceased were identified as Dinu (26) and Mahadev (24). They were part of a seven-member tourist group that had arrived in Tawang via Guwahati, Thongon said.

"The incident occurred in the afternoon when a member of the group slipped into the frozen lake and began to drown. Dinu and Mahadev entered the lake in an attempt to rescue him. While the third tourist managed to come out safely, the two were swept under the icy water," he said.

The SP said the district administration received information about the incident around 3 pm on Friday, following which a joint rescue operation was launched involving the district police, central forces and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Thongon said warning signboards have been put up at Sela Lake and other tourist spots, clearly advising visitors not to walk on frozen lakes. The district administration had issued an advisory in December, cautioning tourists that frozen water bodies are unsafe as the ice may be unstable and unable to support human weight, he said.