U’khand avalanche: Bodies of two B’luru residents recovered

The deceased were identified as Vikram M and Rakshit K, according to officials of the Karnataka Mountaineering Association.

Bodies of two mountaineering trainees from Bengaluru was retrieved from the avalanche-hit site near Draupadi ka Danda-2 peak and brought to Uttarkashi town, in Uttarakhand, said officials in the know of the developments.

A team of 41 people — 34 trainees and seven instructors from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) — were hit by the avalanche on October 4. (REUTERS)

A team of 41 people — 34 trainees and seven instructors from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) — were hit by the avalanche on October 4 near the Dokrani Bamak glacier while returning from high-altitude navigation from the Mount Draupadi ka Danda-2 peak (5,670 metres).

The deceased were identified as Vikram M and Rakshit K, according to officials of the Karnataka Mountaineering Association.

Soon after the news of the avalanche broke out, the Indian Air Force had started the rescue and search operations. But it was only several days later that the IAF, along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and army personnel among other rescue professionals managed to recover Rakshit and Vikram’s bodies.

Rakshit and Vikram’s identity was ascertained on Sunday, according to the central government-run Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), which had organised the mountain expedition.

The duo had enrolled in the 28-day Advance Mountaineering Course (AMC) at the NIM. Before that, they had completed the Basic Mountaineering Course, which is also 28 days long. Rakshit, a resident of Srinagar, Bengaluru, was aiming to embark on an expedition to Mount Everest in May of next year.