No trace of missing TN tourist, spl Navy teams scan Satluj bed

Shimla: The search for Tamil Nadu tourist Vetri Duraisamy (45), missing after a car accident in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, continued for the fifth day on Thursday without any success. He went missing after the car he was travelling in rolled down the national highway into the Satluj river at Kashang Nullah in Kinnaur around 1.30 pm on Sunday.A special Indian Navy team has taken charge of the search operation in the Satluj river. Apart from this, NDRF divers, ITBP, Himachal police and home guard personnel are also continuously engaged in the search operation. However, till now the search teams, comprising 130 personnel, have not found any clue of the missing tourist’s whereabouts. The relatives of the missing tourist, a resident of Chennai, have also reached Kinnaur and are in constant touch with the search teams. His family has already announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who traces him. Vetri’s father Saidai Duraisamy is a former mayor of Chennai.Kinnaur DSP Naveen Jhalta said the search teams have been active along the Satluj since Sunday afternoon and divers have been engaged from Navy and NDRF but no success has been achieved so far. Vetri and Gopinath (32) from Tamil Nadu had come to visit Spiti valley in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal and both were travelling from Spiti towards Shimla in an Innova (HP-01AA-1111), driven by Tenzin, a resident of Tabo in Spiti sub division. When the car reached Kashang Nullah, it went out of control and fell into the Satluj. The body of the car driver was recovered from the Satluj on Sunday.When the car started overturning, Gopinath fell out, sustained injuries.