Uttarakhand: 9 Indian trekkers die after being trapped during blizzard in Himalayas
Uttarakhand: In a tragic and spine-chilling incident, nine Indian trekkers from Karnataka, out of a team of 22, lost their lives after being trapped during a blizzard in the Himalayas.
The group was on expedition Sahastra Tal in Uttarakhand and after they were hit by adverse weather conditions.
The group was caught in severe weather conditions, which included heavy snowfall and strong winds, leading to their unfortunate demise.
The trekkers were on an expedition in the high-altitude regions when the sudden blizzard hit.
Uttarakhand's State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has recovered four more bodies from the site of the incident, following the recovery of five bodies the previous day. After the SDRF team completed the rescue operation, the bodies were transported to Bhatwadi by helicopter.
The deceased have been identified as Venkatesh, Padanadh Kundapur Krishnamurthy, Anita Rangappa, and Padmini Hegde, all residents of Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The recovered bodies have been sent to Uttarkashi district for post-mortem examinations.
Uttarakhand Police said on X that the rescue operation to search for the trekkers trapped on Sahastra Tal track has been completed.
"In this operation, 13 trekkers were rescued safely yesterday...The number of trackers who died in the accident has reached nine. Eight trackers who were rescued safely have been sent to Dehradun. Five others are being sent to Dehradun today. All the nine bodies recovered from the spot will be brought to the District Hospital Uttarkashi for postmortem and then sent to Dehradun by Air Force helicopter," it said.
सहस्त्रताल ट्रैक पर फंसे ट्रैकर्स की खोज के लिए संचालित रेस्क्यू अभियान संपन्न हो गया। इस अभियान में 13 ट्रैकर्स को गत दिवस सुरक्षित रेस्क्यू किया गया था। आज दूसरे दिन वायु सेना के दो चीता हेलीकॉप्टर से घटनास्थल से चार शवों को निकाल कर नटीण हैलीपैड लाया गया। — Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) June 6, 2024
Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah has expressed his condolences on the demise of trekkers.
"Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of five trekkers from our state due to adverse weather conditions in Sahastra Tal, Uttarakhand. I pray for the peace of the departed souls," he said in a post on X.
On Wednesday, SDRF teams recovered five bodies. The other trekkers were rescued.
Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of five trekkers from our state due to adverse weather conditions in Sahastra Tal, Uttarakhand. I pray for the peace of the departed souls.
Eleven trekkers have already been safely rescued through ongoing operations, but several more are… pic.twitter.com/XYnZIUNd8L — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 5, 2024
- With inputs from agencies
