4 more bodies found, 9 Bengaluru trekkers dead in Uttarakhand

While five bodies were recovered earlier, the bodies of Padmanabha, Prasad, Rangappa and Hegde were recovered early Thursday morning. All the other members of the team have been rescued.

The deceased were a part of a 19-member group of trekkers from The Karnataka Mountaineering Association. “This was the seventh expedition of the association this month. I had just come after finishing an expedition in Nepal when the incident took place. I am in Joshimath now. All the deceased are experienced trekkers,” Srivatsa S, secretary of the Karnataka Mountaineering Association said, adding that the bodies were shifted to Joshimath on Thursday morning.

According to an official from the Karnataka disaster management department, 19 trekkers from Karnataka and three local guides had embarked on a high-altitude trek at Sahastra Tal when a blizzard struck around 2 pm on Tuesday.

“On June 3 morning, a group of 20 trekkers and guides went from Lambtal campsite to Sahastra Tal. They were returning to camp. When they were about one and a half to two hours away from camp, at 2 pm, snowing commenced. By 4 pm, snow intensified into a blizzard. By 6 pm, two trekkers succumbed to bad weather,” Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who is in Uttarakhand, said on Wednesday.

“Snow and wind made movement impossible. Visibility dropped to nil. They huddled together for the night on the route. Some more succumbed in the night. Morning of June 4, a guide set off to reach a place where mobile connectivity could be established. In the meantime, some of the trekkers who were in a condition to move started towards the camp around 11 am. The guides came down to the camp and went back with supplies for the stranded trekkers,” he added.

“On June 4 evening, a guide managed to reach a point where a phone signal was available and intimated about the situation. The Karnataka Mountaineering Association and Indian Mountaineering Foundation alerted agencies. The governments of Karnataka and Uttarakhand initiated preparations on June 4 night. Army, Air Force, SDRF [State Disaster Response Force] and various government agencies and organisations were ready at 5 am on June 5 to start the rescue efforts,” he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said in a post on X on Wednesday, “Racing against time, #IAF helicopters have successfully evacuated three survivors and the mortal remains of five trekkers, out of the 15 trekkers who were trapped in severe weather while trekking to Sahastra Tal, Uttarkashi. Due to the high altitude and undulating terrain, the rescue was conducted by two light weight Cheetah helicopters from the higher ground to the base camp and further to the nearest medical centre with medium lift Mi17 V5 helicopters.”

The Karnataka Mountaineering Association has been active since 1966 and has organised many expeditions inside and outside India.