Two mountaineers from Bengaluru are confirmed to have died in the avalanche tragedy that struck Uttarakhand last week.
Officials said Dr Rakshit K and Vikram M were part of a 29-member group that set out on a mountain expedition to Draupadi Ka Danda-2, one of the two peaks in the Gangotri range in Uttarkashi, on October 4. There were 27 trainees and two instructors in the group. Dr Rakshit and Vikram were among the trainees.
After reaching camp area 1, the mountaineers were dislodged by massive snow at around 8.45 am as an avalanche struck the mountain. They fell into a crevasse in freezing temperatures and had no means of contacting the outside world.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Cheetah helicopters to rescue those trapped and retrieve the bodies, if any. Bad news came when four bodies were found on the same day. Fifteen more bodies were retrieved on October 6, seven on October 7 and one on October 8. One trainee remains missing.
It was only on October 9 (Sunday) that the bodies of Dr Rakshit and Vikram were identified, according to the central government-run Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), which had organised the mountain expedition.
Dr Rakshit and Vikram had enrolled in the 28-day Advance Mountaineering Course (AMC) at the NIM. Before that, they had completed the Basic Mountaineering Course, which is also 28 days long.
The AMC is a pre-requisite for undertaking expeditions into the deep Himalayas.
Dr Rakshit, a resident of Srinagar, Bengaluru, had aimed to embark on an expedition to Mount Everest in May next year, said his friend and fellow mountaineer, Purushottam. "He was a very skilled adventurer and was well-prepared. Just when things were falling into place, this tragedy struck," Purushottam told DH.
Vikram was a resident of Whitefield and had enrolled for the course on his own, said a source in the Karnataka Mountaineering Association (KMA).
The bodies are expected to reach Bengaluru for the final rites.