As 5 trekkers perish in the cold, 4 others still missing, rescuers face uphill task

As the rescue teams race against time to save the remaining four members, adverse weather conditions are impeding helicopter rescue efforts in the upper Himalayan region.

The five deceased trekkers have been identified as Sindhu Vakekalam (45), Asha Sudhakar (71), Sujatha Mungurwadi (51), Vinayak Mungurwadi (54), and Chitra Praneeth (48), all from Bengaluru.

District Magistrate Dr Meharban Singh Bisht has instructed the ground rescue teams to expedite their efforts, even as they face an uphill task with 35 kilometres of Himalayan terrain ahead of them. The teams are advancing towards the incident site from two different directions.

The Indian Air Force has also initiated a search and rescue operation on the Sahastratal trek route and deployed two Chetak helicopters. Ambulances and medical teams have been stationed at Uttarkashi’s Matali helipad while an MI-17 helicopter has been kept on standby at Harsil helipad.

On Tuesday evening, the Himalayan View Trekking Agency reported that a 22-member team, including 18 from Karnataka, one from Maharashtra, and three local guides, who had embarked on Malla-Silla-Kushkalyan-Sahastratal trek on May 29 and was expected to return by June 7, had lost its way due to bad weather.

SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra told The Indian Express that of the 22 members, two stayed back in Uttarkashi when the trek began. The rest reached the base camp at Sahastratal and started the trek. On the way to Sahastratal, two members took ill and decided to stay behind and wait for the 18 members to return.

“Returning from Sahastratal, the team encountered bad weather. They continued the trek during which two of them died. The remaining members eventually reached the two trekkers who had stayed behind and spent the night there. During the night, two more trekkers died due to extreme cold, leaving 16 trekkers. The next morning, eight of them managed to return to the base camp,” Mishra said Wednesday.

Late Tuesday night, the state government reported that Bisht had requested the SDRF headquarters to immediately send rescue teams. A joint team comprising the police, SDRF personnel, and local guides familiar with the terrain was formed, who set off for the site early Wednesday.

– With inputs from Akram M in Karnataka