Tourist from Kolkata dies near Sandakphu

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>DARJEELING,:</b><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif"> A 40-year-old tourist from Kolkata died at Tumling, Sandakphu in the Darjeeling hills, officials said on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">The deceased, identified as Imran Ali, had travelled with a friend to visit Sandakphu but halted at Tumling, located at an altitude of around 9,600 feet, due to inclement weather.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">Ali was found unconscious on Friday morning and was taken to a primary health centre at Sukhiapokhri, where he was declared brought dead, said Rajesh Chauhan, health in charge of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) at Darjeeling District Hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">“The GTA, with the help of Singalila Drivers Association, brought the body to Darjeeling for post-mortem. The body has been handed over to the family. It will be sent by ambulance to Siliguri and then another one will take him to Kolkata,” Chauhan said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">According to officials, the duo had reached Siliguri from Kolkata on March 25 and proceeded to Maneybhanjyang, where they stayed overnight before heading towards Sandakphu the next day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">However, due to adverse weather conditions, they decided to stay at Tumling.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">“We had planned to visit Sandakphu, but due to bad weather we stayed back at Tumling. Everything was fine, but the next morning when I tried to wake him up, he did not respond,” said Rohit Shekar, the friend accompanying Ali.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">He added that they had initially planned to trek but opted to travel by vehicle due to the weather.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">There have been several incidents in recent times of tourists facing health issues, particularly breathing problems, in the Sandakphu area due to high altitude and extreme cold.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p> </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bookman Old Style&quot;,serif">The region has been experiencing snowfall in recent days, leading to a drop in temperature, they added.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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