No signs of missing Arunachal mountaineers as search limited over inclement weather

Tapi Mra and Niku Dao went missing on August 17 while trying to scale the Chiumo peak on the McMohan Line, effectively the border between India and China.

Chiumo peak, 6,890m close to the McMohan Line, Arunachal Pradesh. (Image credits: Facebook/ MyGov Arunachal Pradesh)

A search for two mountaineers who went missing in Arunachal Pradesh last month was restricted to Camp-1 and adjoining areas owing to extreme inclement weather on Friday.

Tapi Mra and Niku Dao went missing on August 17 while trying to scale the Chiumo peak, 6,890m close to the McMohan Line, effectively the border between India and China. In 2009 Mra became the first Arunachalee to Mount Everest.

While the Army and the state government started a search and rescue operation soon after they went missing, a standard operating procedure (SOP) was issued two days ago, putting an Army official in charge of the entire operation.

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“Adverse weather prevailed at Camp-1 with persistent rain and whiteout conditions throughout the day. Visibility dropped to only 10m. Hence the party could not proceed to the Camp-2 location today. The area around Camp-1 was searched, but no telltale signs were found,” said a notice issued by Ashok Tajo, the aid-de-camps-cum-incident commander.

Whiteout is a condition in which snow and clouds affect the way light is reflected and only very dark objects are seen.

The notice also said all the rescue team members were keeping well and were thinking of extending the search towards Camp-2 and Rockwall from Saturday.

The local district administration issued an advisory to the Army for the safe conduct of the search and rescue operation.

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The route to Camp-1 is not only arduous but also dangerous because of the widespread presence of screes.