Arunachal: Pickup truck plunges into Kurung River, driver feared dead

In Arunachal Pradesh, a pickup truck, laden with iron steel rods, careened off the road and plunged into the waters of the Kurung River. The mishap, which transpired near Koloriang town in the Kurung Kumey district, has left one individual feared dead, while another survived.

Merung Bahadur Limbu, a 42-year-old resident of Gohpur, Assam, and a father of three, is the missing driver of the ill-fated vehicle. The incident occurred as the truck was en route to Nangram Village, travelling the Kurung Bridge, which serves as the tri-junction to Koloriang and Parsi Parlo towns.

Providing insights into the calamity, Superintendent of Police Kurung Kumey, Bomken Basar, revealed that the pickup truck was navigating the Parsi Parlo PMGSY road when tragedy struck. "There was a weak portion of the road, known as a sliding zone, due to continuous soil erosion," Basar explained. "The soil, further weakened by the passage of a tractor earlier in the day, gave way beneath the wheels of the mini-truck, sending it hurtling down into the depths of the Kurung River."

While handyman Donesh Sobar managed to escape the vehicle's descent, swimming to safety with minor leg injuries requiring seven stitches, Limbu's whereabouts remain unknown. Efforts by a collaborative rescue team, comprising personnel from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), district administration, police department, Koloriang market association members, and local citizens, resulted in the retrieval of the heavily damaged vehicle.

"The vehicle, upon retrieval, bore the brunt of the fall, with its windshield shattered, cabin broken, and roof severely damaged," Basar stated. "Regrettably, the body of the driver is still unaccounted for, feared to have been swept away by the Kurung River's strong currents."