Darjeeling, July 15 -- A major tragedy was averted on Tuesday night after a Mahindra Thar carrying four occupants got stranded in the middle of the Balasan river at Dudhia when the water level rose suddenly, leaving those inside trapped against a powerful current.

According to local sources, the vehicle had entered the riverbed when the flow appeared manageable. Within minutes, however, the water swelled without warning - a pattern all too familiar in the hills during the monsoon, when rainfall upstream can transform a calm stretch of river into a dangerous torrent. The Thar stalled mid-stream, and the four people inside found themselves surrounded by fast-rising water with no safe way out.

It was at this critical moment that Devkumar R...