Sahil Rai, a 22-year-old from Bahadur Gaon, drowned in Sumendu lake at Mirik while trying to save a friend late on Monday evening.
A source said Rai went into the water to rescue his friend, Mirik Bazar resident Sadip Dorjee, who had reportedly jumped from the Indreni footbridge over the lake, in an apparent suicide attempt. Dorjee was rescued and is currently in the block primary health centre (BPHC) at Mirik, but Sahil lost his life.
Milesh Rai, an executive member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), said: “Around 10pm on Monday, a person jumped into the lake from the footbridge. Locals immediately informed the fire and emergency service and the police, who rushed to the spot and rescued the person.”
Although Dorjee was pulled out of the lake after a couple of hours, the search team was unable to locate Rai. His body was spotted around 7.30am on Tuesday near the footbridge.
His body was sent to North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMCH) for post-mortem before being handed over to his family members later in the evening.
The tragedy has hit the residents of the small hill town hard, who are still mourning the 11 people killed by landslides during the floods of October 5.
LB Rai, chairman of the board of administrators of Mirik Municipality, expressed his shock.
“The incident has shocked residents across Mirik, because such an incident has never happened in the hill town in the recent past. People need to be aware to prevent such mishaps in the future,” he said.