E-Paper
4 trekkers from West Bengal go missing in Kullu
Were scaling Mount Ali Ratni Tibba (5,458m) in Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh when they went missing on September 7; cook and two other members of the party have safely returned
Four trekkers from West Bengal on an expedition to Mount Ali Ratni Tibba (5,458m) in Malana of Kullu district have been missing since September 7, officials said on Friday.
The missing trekkers are Abhijit Banik, 43; Chinmoy Mondal, 43; Dibash Das, 37; and Binoy Das, 31.
State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Sudesh Kumar Mokhta director said a cook, and two members of the expedition had returned to Wachem near Malana and informed the authorities about the four missing men.
“The local administration and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS, Manali) have dispatched a rescue team to search for the missing trekkers.”
Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent incidents, the state government has decided to ban trekking in the high altitude areas from September 15. The deputy commissioners have been directed not to allow trekking in high-altitude areas in their jurisdiction from the specified date.
It is worth mentioning that a trekker from West Bengal was killed and another injured while they were crossing climbing down an ice wall at the Khimloga pass in the Kinnaur district on September on September 3. A climbing team of nine, including three trekkers and six porters, were on a trekking expedition from Uttrakhand to Himachal through a 5,712m Khimloga pass. The injured trekker Subroto Biswas was rescued by a joint Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of ITBP and Himachal Pradesh Police, while the body of the deceased Sujoy Dule couldn’t be retrieved, and the Kinnaur administration sought the help of NDRF.
