Uttarakhand missing trekkers: Toll reaches 9, choppers roped in for rescue ops

Search and rescue operations that started yesterday to trace missing trekkers in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi continued for the second day on Thursday. The death toll reached nine and 13 trekkers were rescued as the operation continued. However, only five bodies have been recovered so far.

On Tuesday, a group of 22 trekkers en route to Sahastra Tal in Uttarakhand went missing after being stranded on top of a hill at an altitude of 15,000 feet on the Uttarkashi-Tehri border.

Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht said that the trekking team comprising 18 members from Karnataka, one from Maharashtra and three guides from Uttarkashi had gone on a trekking expedition to Sahastra Tal on May 29 and were to return on June 7.

At around 4 pm on Tuesday, they found themselves stranded at the Kufri top due to extremely bad weather, he added.

The Uttarkashi and Tehri Disaster Management Centre was alerted about the incident and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were sent for rescue and relief to the Kush Kalyan base camp, where the trek commenced.

Five deaths were reported yesterday, which increased to nine on Thursday and 13 have been rescued. NDRF personnel and two helicopters have been deployed to carry out the rescue operation. An ambulance has also been stationed at Matli helipad.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed remorse over the incident and said that appropriate relief will be provided. The Air Force was also being roped in for help, he told India Today TV.

(Inputs from Omkar Bahuguna)