Three West Bengal tourists rescued from Ganga in Rishikesh

Three tourists from West Bengal were rescued from the Ganga in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh after they were stranded on a dry patch in the river, police said on Monday.

The tourists were stuck there due to a sudden rise in the water level, they said.

Police sprang into action immediately and rescued them with the help of ropes and rafts, Muni ki Reti police station in-charge R K Saklani said.

When the police team reached the spot near the Poornanand ghat, three men were seen stranded on a thin patch of dry land slightly above the surface of the river, he said.

Police personnel wearing life jackets reached the spot on rafts and brought them back with the help of ropes, Saklani said.

When the tourist waded into the river, the water level was low but when they walked downstream for a while, it rose all of a sudden, causing panic.

They somehow reached the dry patch of the land and raised an alarm, catching the attention of passersby who informed police, the official said.

The tourists have been identified as Gautam Majumdar and Sushil Haldar from 26 Parganas of Kolkata and Konand Chakraborty from Jalpaiguri.