Uttarkashi avalanche tragedy: 27 mountaineers still missing, said to be stuck in Dokriani Bamak glacier

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and mountaineers from the NIM aided by Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters are carrying out the rescue operation.

Two days after an avalanche claimed 10 lives in Uttarkashi, as many as 27 mountaineers continue to remain missing on Thursday. According to reports, fourteen injured members of the avalanche team were rescued on Wednesday.

The Uttarakhand Police confirmed that 10 bodies were recovered by the rescue personnel.

According to the state police, 14 injured mountaineers were airlifted to the ITBP camp at Matli and nine who had sustained minor injuries were sent back to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM).

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and mountaineers from the NIM aided by Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters are carrying out the rescue operation.

The Indian Air Force has deployed two Cheetah helicopters for rescue and relief operations. On Wednesday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami did an aerial inspection of the area.

The rescue operation is very tough as the area is at a height of 17,000 feet where the tragedy occurred.

If sources are said to be believed, the missing persons are stuck in the crevasse in Dokriani Bamak glacier where the avalanche struck. The NIM has said that its which was caught in the avalanche consisted of 34 trainee mountaineers and seven instructors.

The trainees were residents of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam and Haryana.

Mountaineer Savita Kanswal, who had climbed Mount Everest in May 2022, died in the avalanche. She was from Lonthru village in Uttarkashi district.