Seven bodies of two separate trekking teams hit by bad weather in Uttarakhand were recovered on Saturday. While 12 of the 21 trekkers are now confirmed dead, 3 remain missing.
Two dead bodies were found from the Lamkhaga Pass bordering Himachal Pradesh. They were part of an 11-member team from West Bengal that went missing while on way to Chitkul from Harsil in Uttarkashi. Five of them had been found earlier. Two of the 11 remain missing. Two injured and in hospital. A search is underway for the remaining members, officials said.
Five others found dead were part of another trekking team, which was hit by an avalanche at Sunderdhunga glacier in Bageshwar district.
Another team of 11 members went missing. The group of seven tourists from Kolkata and one from Delhi was supposed to reach Chitkut on October 19.
The number of casualties in rain-related incidents since October 17 in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand, triggering landslides and avalanches has now crossed 75 and 26 people are injured.
State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) Commandant Navneet Bhullar told that they had deployed high-altitude teams, climbers and Army helicopters for the rescue operations. He said “On October 19 we were informed by their tour organiser that the weather was worsening and the team was stuck at over 15,000 feet. We immediately responded, using two Advanced light Helicopters (ALH). Continuous operations have been on since.”
He added, “At Pindari glacier, 34 people were stranded, including six foreign nationals, and all were rescued. Fortunately they had just started their trek when hit by bad weather. They were just 11 km from the last habitation and found shelter. At Kafni glacier we rescued 19 locals who had climbed up to take their goats for grazing and had got stuck.”
Meanwhile, the rescue efforts continue. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, assured the people that the Centre stands with them during the crisis. The Centre has already released an assistance of Rs 749.60 crore as the Central share under the SDRF.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Dungri village in Chamoli district to meet the people affected by the disaster.
West Bengal officials identified five from the state who had died in the Uttarkashi incident: Tanmay Tiwari (30), Vikash Makal (33), Sourav Ghosh (34), Shuvayan Das (28) and Richard Mandol (31). Out of the six, four were from South 24 Parganas.
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Himachal Pradesh: 17 trekkers gone missing; search operations to begin