Two Kerala Tourists Drown After Slipping into Frozen Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh, One Rescued - Scary Visuals

A tragic incident has been reported from Sela Lake in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, where three tourists reportedly fell into the lake after the frozen surface collapsed. Two tourists drowned in the Sela Lake,

while one was rescued. Two tourists, hailing from Kerala, drowned in Tawang's Sela Lake, while one was immediately rescued by Army personnel and other tourists present at the spot. The body of one of them was recovered and has been kept at Jang Community Health Centre, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted on Saturday. The incident occurred when the tourists were walking over the ice-covered portion of the lake, sources said. The rescue operation is being supervised by the ADC Jang, who reached the site along with police personnel and defence forces. "The deceased was identified as Dinu (26), while Mahadev (24) is still missing. They were part of a seven-member tourist group that had arrived in Tawang via Guwahati," Superintendent of Police (SP) DW Thongon said.

STORY | Two Kerala tourists drown after slipping into frozen Sela Lake in Arunachal PradeshTwo 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, while a search was underway to… pic.twitter.com/8jBhxu8NRH

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 16, 2026

"The incident happened in the afternoon when one 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 added.The SP said the administration received information about the incident around 3 pm, following which a joint rescue operation was launched involving the district police, central forces and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF)."Despite difficult weather and low visibility, the body of one tourist was recovered. The search for the missing person had to be halted due to darkness and harsh conditions," he said, adding that the operation will resume on Saturday morning.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.Situated at an altitude of over 13,000 feet, Sela Lake is a popular tourist destination but poses significant risks during winter due to extreme cold and fragile ice cover.