The toll from the Uttarkashi avalanche rose to nine on Thursday as five more bodies were recovered, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) said in a statement.
The avalanche hit a group of 41 trainee mountaineers and instructors from NIM near the Dokrani Bamak glacier when it was returning from high-altitude navigation from Mount Draupadi ka Danda-2 peak (5,670 m) on Tuesday. Four bodies were recovered the same day.
The statement said that 29 trainees remained missing and two instructors were among those killed.
A 14-member team of experts from the army’s High Altitude Warfare School in Jammu & Kashmir’s Gulmarg has also been sent to join the rescuers.
District disaster management officer (Uttarkashi) said Devendra Patwal said the team from Gulmarg flew to a helipad at Matli before leaving for the site. State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), army, and NIM teams have been involved in the rescue operation.
On Wednesday, 15 people were rescued and flown from NIM base camp in Dokrani to Matli even as bad weather disrupted rescue work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Five of them have been hospitalised.
“Bad weather at the higher altitude is stalling rescue operations as fresh snowfall, and poor visibility do not allow choppers to carry out sorties,” said Patwal.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert, forecasting “heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in districts of Kumaon region and adjoining districts of Garhwal region.”
{{/usCountry}}The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert, forecasting “heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in districts of Kumaon region and adjoining districts of Garhwal region.”
{{/usCountry}}Savita Kanswal, 26, who this year became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Makalu in just 16 days and set a national record, was among those killed in the avalanche. An instructor at the institute, Kanswal climbed Mount Everest (8,848 m) on May 12 and Mount Makalu (8,485 m), the world’s fifth highest peak on May 28.
The NIM group was caught in the avalanche at around 8.45am on October 4. It was part of an advanced mountaineering course, which included 34 trainees and seven instructors.