Searching in the snow on a lost note, literally

On Thursday, with just 30-year-old Swede Margot Lydia Aulikki Ryyannen’s body in hand, the chopper mission was put on hold.

So, what went wrong?

After the radio sets carried by the rescue team broke down, a porter was sent from the glacier, 18,000 ft high, to the base camp in Udaipur with a note tucked in his pocket that read: ‘‘One body found, looking for three more.’’

But during the trek down the difficult terrain, he slipped and fell into a stream. And though he managed to swim to safety, the note was lost.

Finally, when the rattled porter reached the base camp, what he ended up conveying was just the opposite: ‘‘Three bodies found, looking for one more.’’

Then, after a night’s rest, he was sent back with the message that a chopper was being arranged to airlift the bodies, which were to preserved in the snow till then.

‘‘The message was relayed to the police and through them to control rooms. We were informed that three bodies had been found. We thought one of the bodies was that of Margot’s American fiance,’’ Verma told The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the American had already been identified as Zen Victor with the help of the Swedish Embassy, which apparently found his name in Margot’s records.

The US embassy, which was kept in the loop, were also waiting for identification procedures to be over.

By now, IAF had confirmed that they would provide a chopper if the state government routed a request through the Ministry of External Affairs. ‘‘Our choppers were ready, but we never got instructions from MEA,’’ said an IAF spokesperson.

Verma says the clearance would have been obtained, the rescue team did not want to stay on at glacier because of bad weather.

As a result, all that has been recovered now are the remains of Margot’s body and some documents, including her passport, traveller’s cheques, a permit issued by local authorities and some Indian currency.

Her visa shows she had crossed into India from Pakistan through the Wagah border soon after which Swedish authorities recorded her as missing sometime in December 1982.

The body has been sent to Shimla where forensic experts will match dental records supplied to them from Sweden to confirm her identity beyond doubt.