Pet dog guards teen’s body for four days in Himachal’s freezing snowfall
Police said the two trekkers, who had gone to record videos for Viksit’s social media, had gone missing on January 22 and their bodies were recovered on January 26.
The ASP also said both bodies and the dog were airlifted to a nearby helipad. (Express Photo) Rescue teams have recovered the bodies of two missing trekkers and a one-and-a-half-year-old pit bull that had stood guard over the bodies for the past four days near the Bharmani Devi shrine in Chamba’s Bharmour area. The victims, identified as Viksit Rana (19) and his cousin Piyush (14), were buried in snow, while their pet dog refused to abandon Piyush’s body amid extreme weather conditions.
Police said Viksit and Piyush were from Bharmour’s Ghared village and Malkota village, respectively. They said the two trekkers, who had gone to record videos for Viksit’s social media, had gone missing on January 22 and their bodies were recovered on January 26.
ASP (Chamba) Dinesh Kumar Sharma told The Indian Express, “Viksit was a blogger and was fond of uploading videos and photographs of the hills featuring himself on social media. According to his family members and friends, before heading into the high-altitude area, Viksit had… arranged sleeping bags, a trekking tent that could accommodate at least two people, packaged food and other essentials. He had also taken along his pet pit bull named Sherru.”
“Unfortunately, the snowstorm was extremely intense, and the temperature dropped to between minus nine and minus 10 degrees Celsius. We found sleeping bags, a tent, and other belongings near the bodies. The pit bull was found standing near Piyush’s body,” he said.
The ASP also said both bodies and the dog were airlifted to a nearby helipad. After post-mortem examinations, the bodies were handed over to the families.
Bharmour MLA Dr Janak Raj later confirmed that the animal was safely brought down and handed over to the family. “The pet belonged to Viksit Rana but was found keeping watch near Piyush’s body,” he said.
“A common friend of Viksit informed police that he had made several calls to friends, stating that Piyush’s health had begun to deteriorate… he was carrying him down on his shoulders. However, he later lost way in heavy snowfall. Subsequently, Viksit’s phone also switched off, after which a search operation was launched. Piyush’s body was found first, while Viksit’s body was located around 100 metres downhill,” Sharma said.
Sources said Viksit had managed to contact one of his friends, Akshaya, on January 22 and had sought help, before his phone switched off.
Viksit was a school dropout and had lost his father last year. He is survived by his mother, Anita Devi, who sells cow milk and his elder sister, who is married.
Piyush is survived by his parents, two brothers and three sisters. Police said Piyush’s father suffers from a psychiatric illness.
On the night of January 24, the Chamba administration forwarded the information regarding the two missing trekkers near the Bharmani shrine, an SDRF officer said. “An SDRF team was immediately mobilised. A helicopter team comprising five SDRF personnel and a local guide was airdropped near the suspected location on the Chutadiya peak. The ground team advanced on foot through snow-covered terrain in extreme cold and a high avalanche-prone area, where they spotted the pitched tents.”
The officer said, “The first victim located was Piyush and the dog was found standing near his body. The body and the dog were airlifted to the Chaurasi Temple helipad… Viksit was located after three to four hours and was also airlifted.”
Bharmani Devi is a scenic religious site located at an altitude of around 9,000 feet above sea level. While the road distance between Bharmour and the Bharmani Devi shrine is about 16 km, there is also a steep trek of nearly 5 km from Bharmour to the shrine.
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