14 avalanche-hit mountaineers rescued in Uttarakhand, 17 missing

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 5

Operations to search for survivors of the avalanche in Uttarakhand are on. A joint rescue team comprising the Indian Air Force, Army, Indian Tibetan Border Police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is at the spot at an altitude of 14,000 ft.

A total of 41 persons, including 34 trainees and seven mountaineering instructors, were hit by an avalanche at 8.45 am yesterday, a statement of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) said.

10 bodies retrieved

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• The police said 10 bodies have been retrieved so far in a search and rescue operation aided by the IAF
• Among the dead is Savita Kanswal, the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest and Mt Makalu in 16 days
• She had been serving as an instructor for NIM’s mountaineering course

Of them, 14 have been rescued. Ten persons, including ace mountaineer Savita Kanswal, have been found dead and a search is on for the others.

These trainee mountaineers were being taught the art of scaling high peaks. The team was descending from ‘Draupadi ka Danda-II’ mountain peak, which is at an altitude of 18,600 ft. The team, after scaling the mountain at 4 am, was on its way back when the avalanche hit.

Teams of skilled mountaineers of the Army have been brought in from other locations. Among the dead is Savita Kanswal, the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest and Mt Makalu within 16 days. She had been serving as an instructor for the institute’s advanced mountaineering course.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami did an aerial inspection of the area that was hit by the avalanche on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Uttarakhand Police released a list of 28 trainee mountaineers who were missing in the avalanche. Bhatwari SDM Chattar Singh Chauhan said 14 members of the team, out of which six had sustained minor injuries in the avalanche, were airlifted to Matli in two sorties.