The body of the second tourist from Kerala who drowned in the frozen Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh&rsquo;s Tawang district was recovered on Saturday morning, police officials said.
The joint search operation resumed around 8 am after it had been suspended the previous evening due to poor visibility conditions. The rescue effort involved personnel from the Indian Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) Bomdila, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and district police.
According to Tawang Superintendent of Police DW Thongon, four divers from SDRF Bomdila in West Kameng district, along with Army personnel, were deployed for the underwater search. Poor visibility beneath the frozen surface initially hampered operations, but the second body was recovered at around 10.10 am.
Post-mortem examinations of the deceased are underway, after which the bodies will be handed over to their families. The victims were identified as Dinu, 26, and Mahadev, 24.
The two were part of a seven-member tourist group that had travelled to Tawang via Guwahati. The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when one member of the group slipped into the frozen lake. Dinu and Mahadev entered the icy waters in an attempt to rescue him. While the third tourist managed to escape safely, the two were swept under the ice.
Authorities received information about the incident at around 3 pm on Friday, prompting an immediate rescue operation by multiple agencies.
Police said warning signboards have been installed at Sela Lake and other tourist locations, advising visitors against walking on frozen waterbodies. The district administration had also issued a safety advisory in December, cautioning tourists that frozen lakes are unstable and may not support human weight.
Located at an altitude of over 13,000 feet, Sela Lake is a major tourist attraction but poses serious risks during winter due to extreme cold and fragile ice cover.

Search teams recover two victims from frozen lake in Arunachal’s Tawang

Two Kerala Tourist’s Body Found in Sela Lake

Search teams recover two victims from frozen lake in Arunachal’s Tawang

January 17, 2026 | 11:21 IST