Ten more bodies of mountaineers missing since the avalanche in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi earlier this week were found on Friday, taking the death toll to 26.
A team of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was coming down on Tuesday after summitting the Draupadi Ka Danda peak in Uttarkashi when an avalache struck the region. The team comprised of 34 trainee mountaineers from NIM and seven trainers.
Ten deaths were confirmed on Tuesday and eight of the trapped mountaineers were rescued, according to NIM. Since then, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Indian Army, and the Indian Air Force are engaged in search and rescue operations.
Two Cheetah helicopters took off from the Indian Army helipad in Harsil to join the search operations, said officials.
Three more bodies were recovered from the avalanche site late on Thursday evening and seven were found on Friday, taking the total number of bodies retrieved so far to 26, the NIM said, adding that while 24 of these bodies are of trainee mountaineers, two are of their instructors.
Three trainees are still missing, according to the NIM, adding that 15 bodies were recovered on Thursday.
Four of the bodies that were being brought to Matli were taken to the Harsil helipad due to bad weather. From there, they were sent to Uttarkashi in ambulances, said District Magistrate (DM) Abhishek Ruhella, adding that not all the bodies have been identified yet and the relatives of the deceased who have been identified have been informed.
Inclement weather hampered aerial search efforts but they continued uninterrupted on the ground, said Ruhella.
A heavy rain alert was issued by the meteorological department for several hill districts in Uttarakhand including Uttarkashi where schools were closed on Friday and disaster management teams were put on alert.
NIM instructor Nayab Subedar Anil Kumar, who survived the tragedy, told PTI on Thursday that 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche.
Four bodies were pulled out of the crevasse on the day of the avalanche while 29 were still stuck, Kumar had said.
Army, IAF, NIM, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, High Altitude Warfare School (Jammu and Kashmir) and State Disaster Response Force along with the district administration are conducting the search operations that were launched hours after the avalanche struck on Tuesday.
The mountaineers who went missing after the avalanche were part of a team selected by the NIM for an advanced training course.
(With PTI inputs)
