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Caught in snowstorm, 3 Mumbai trekkers die in Himachal’s Kinnaur district
A party of 13 trekkers were on their way from Janglik village in Dodra Kwar in Rohru subdivision to Sangla in Kinnaur district; 12 people were from Mumbai and one was from Delhi
Three Mumbai-based trekkers were killed after they were caught in a snowstorm while crossing the Barua Pass in Kinnaur district on Sunday.
The victims – Deepak Narayan 58; Rajendra Pathak 65; and Ashok Madhukar 64 – were part of a 13-member trekking party. Their companions have been rescued. One Prasad Manohar sustained cold injuries, while those who have been safely rescued are Rajneesh Kumar, Rakesh Sharma, Dhananjai Gavde, Pawan Kirtikar, Dhan Raj, Mahesh Hegde, Vishwas Adsug, Bhawna Deshmukh and Pradeep Roy of Delhi.
The trekkers were on their way from Janglik village in Dodra Kwar in Rohru subdivision to Sangla in Kinnaur district. The authorities were alerted around 4.30pm.
“A 13-member police team rescued four members around 12am, and it took another three hours to rescue the other six,” said Kinnaur superintendent of police Ashok Rattan. Of the 13 trekkers, 12 were from Mumbai and one from Delhi.
“A rescued trekker told us that three people had succumbed to hypothermia. However, due to heavy snowfall in the area at night, the rescuers were unable to reach the location. The 10 rescued trekkers were brought to the Reckong Peo Hospital. A rescue team, comprising Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, has been dispatched to recover the bodies,” he said.
Kinnaur deputy commissioner Apporv Devgan asked tourists visiting Kinnaur to avoid visiting higher reaches in inclement weather to avoid untoward situations and said that rain leads to shooting stones on some stretches and residents as well as tourists should venture out only if necessary.
Earlier, 11 trekkers had gone missing after getting caught in a snowstorm, while on their way to Chitkul. So far, seven bodies have been recovered, two trekkers have been rescued, while two have still not been found.
