A trek in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi turned deadly for a group of trekkers from Bengaluru, nine members of which died after losing their way in their adventure amid bad weather.
While bodies of five trekkers part of the group, including a 71-year-old woman, were recovered on Wednesday, June 5, four more people were found dead on Thursday, June 6, officials said.
Rest of the trekkers of the group were rescued safely, news agency PTI quoted SDM Brijesh Kumar Tiwari as saying. He also informed that the rescue operation aided by Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters has been concluded.
What Happened At The Trek
The 22-member trekking team from Bengaluru was sent by Himalayan View Trekking Agency, Maneri, on May 29 on a 35-km long trek from Uttarkashi, according to officials in the PTI report.
The Malla-Silla-Kushkalyan-Sahastratal trek is located on the border of the Tehri district. The Sahastra Tal lake, while known for being picturesque and also known as "the lake of the gods" is part of a seven-lake trek in Uttarkashi and is little-explored due to the difficult terrain trekkers have to go through to reach the destination. It is at an altitude of 4,600 metres, as per information available on the internet.
The team was to return by June 7, but lost its way due to bad weather as it approached Sahastra Tal from the last base camp, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht had said.
The trekking agency later found that four members of the team had died and others were stranded, following which land and aerial rescue operations were launched in search of the trekkers, he had said.
The IAF was also roped in to rescue the stranded trekkers and find the bodies of those who died, officials said.
Uttarkashi Trekking Tragedy | The Victims
The trekking team comprised 18 trekkers from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra, besides three local guides, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht said.
The five deceased found on Wednesday had been identified as Sindhu Vakekalam (44), Asha Sudhakar (71), Sujatha Mungurwadi (52), Vinayak Mungurwadi (55) and Chitra Praneeth (48), he added.
SDM Tiwari said the four more bodies recovered on Thursday were identified as Venkatesh Prasad (53), Padmanadha Kundapur Krishnamurthy (50), Anita Rangappa (60) and Padmini Hegde (34).
Trekkers Survived On Dryfruits Amid Icy Winds
The trekkers reportedly spent 20 hours amid the icy winds and survived on dryfruits. One of the trekkers who was rescued safely, said that the weather suddenly got unbearably cold during the trek.
Jaiprakash VS, cited in a jagran.com report, said he has gone for treks in Uttarakhand before also, adding that he would never be able to forget this experience.
Smriti Prakash, another trekker part of the group to have returned safely, said they could not contact anyone or seek help as there was no network.
The IAF on Wednesday shared some details regarding the rescue operation and also visuals of a helicopter that was deployed for it in a post on X. "Racing against time, #IAF helicopters have successfully evacuated three survivors and the mortal remains of five trekkers, out of the 15 trekkers who were trapped in severe weather while trekking to Sahastra Tal, Uttarkashi, IAF had said in its post.
"Due to the high altitude and undulating terrain, the rescue was conducted by two light-weight Cheetah helicopters from the higher ground to the base camp and further to the nearest medical centre with medium lift Mi17 V5 helicopters," IAF added.
