Uttarkashi Avalanche: Bad Weather Hampers Rescue Efforts For Missing Mountaineers

Twenty-nine members of a team from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering had gone missing after an avalanche hit them on their way back from the summit, according to the National Institution Mountaineering (NIM).

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 8 October 2022 6:01 am

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Search efforts for the three missing mountaineers were hamstrung by heavy snowfall on Friday over the avalanche-hit site near the ‘Draupadi ka Danda’ peak.

A team of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was coming down on Tuesday after summitting the Draupadi Ka Danda peak in Uttarkashi when an avalache struck the region. The team comprised of 34 trainee mountaineers from NIM and seven trainers. Twenty-six bodies have since been recovered and three are still missing.

Four out of twenty six bodies retrieved so far have already been handed over to their families. Efforts are on to bring down the rest.

With weather conditions obstructing the search efforts, relatives who have come to Uttarkashi from different parts of the country are getting impatient.

Aerial rescue operations can be resumed only after the weather improves, District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said.

Ten more bodies of mountaineers missing since the avalanche in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi earlier this week were found on Friday, taking the death toll to 26.

Ten deaths were confirmed on Tuesday and eight of the trapped mountaineers were rescued, according to NIM. Since then, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Indian Army, and the Indian Air Force are engaged in search and rescue operations.

Two Cheetah helicopters took off from the Indian Army helipad in Harsil to join the search operations, said officials.

Three more bodies were recovered from the avalanche site late on Thursday evening and seven were found on Friday, taking the total number of bodies retrieved so far to 26, the NIM said, adding that while 24 of these bodies are of trainee mountaineers, two are of their instructors.

Three trainees are still missing, according to the NIM, adding that 15 bodies were recovered on Thursday.

Four of the bodies that were being brought to Matli were taken to the Harsil helipad due to bad weather. From there, they were sent to Uttarkashi in ambulances, said District Magistrate (DM) Abhishek Ruhella, adding that not all the bodies have been identified yet and the relatives of the deceased who have been identified have been informed.