3 killed as landslide-hit SUV plunges into Arunachal gorge

Itanagar: Three people, including a couple, were killed and two others sustained severe injuries after their vehicle was struck by a landslide and plunged into a 20-metre-deep gorge on the Migging-Tuting road in remote Upper Siang district on Wednesday morning.According to Upper Siang District Disaster Management Officer (DDMO) Anie Yangfo, the accident took place around 7:30am, approximately 3km away from Migging. A Tata Nexon carrying five occupants was hit by falling debris from a landslide, causing the driver to lose control and sending the vehicle rolling down a cliff.The deceased have been identified as Ottu Nitik, his wife Bami Nitik, and Olek Tali. The two injured passengers, Jesek Jongkey and Ponung Nitik, were rushed to a nearby medical facility. Officials stated that Jongkey’s condition remains critical.A massive joint rescue and recovery operation was immediately mobilized by the local administration, led by the Tuting additional deputy commissioner and the Migging circle officer. Given the challenging terrain, a large contingent of security forces—including personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 61st Battalion and multiple Indian Army regiments (5 Dogra, 117 Engineer Regiment, 18 Sikh, 11 Sikh, 1811 Medium Regiment, and 17 Mahar)—were deployed to recover the victims."Rescue teams have successfully retrieved two of the bodies. However, efforts are still underway to recover the body of Ottu Nitik, which is trapped at a much greater depth down the treacherous slope," Yangfo said.Meanwhile, the district administration announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, which will be distributed upon official verification under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines. The government will also sponsor the medical treatment of the injured survivors.