Bodies of 5 Bengal trekkers retrieved from Uttarakhand's Bageshwar

The Uttarakhand SDRF said the five victims were from West Bengal, and were part of a 10-member team that had gone to the valley for trekking but got trapped in snowfall during the recent disaster on October 21.

Bodies of at least five trekkers were retrieved from Sunderdhunga valley in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district on Tuesday, about 360km from Dehradun, the state's disaster response force said.

Members of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) search the debris after a landslide caused by heavy rainfall at Dungri village in Chamoli district, in the northern state of Uttarakhand.(File photo / Reuters)

The Uttarakhand SDRF said the five victims were from West Bengal, and were part of a 10-member team that had gone to the valley for trekking but got trapped in snowfall during the recent disaster on October 21.

While four trekkers were rescued on the same day six of them, including the five whose bodies were found on Tuesday went missing, with one person still missing. 

The SDRF retrieved their bodies after a search operation that continued for the past four days. The bodies were airlifted to Kapkot in a chopper of the Indian Air Force.

Last week, at least 13 people, including 10 trekkers, died at separate places in Uttarakhand after getting trapped due to snowfall in the mountainous region.

The victims include three porters working for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, posted along the India-China border in Uttarkashi district. Five people have been rescued while six remain missing.

Last week, the state authorities were forced to halt pilgrimage to the Char Dham as heavy rainfall triggered flash floods and landslides across Uttarakhand and claimed the lives of at least 75 people, including several tourists. However, the state authorities resumed the pilgrimage later.