4 Bengaluru trekkers feared dead, 19 still stranded in Uttarakhand mountains

Bengaluru: Close to 19 trekkers from Bengaluru who were on a trek to the Sahastra Tal-Mayali stretch in the Garhwal mountain ranges of the Himalayas have been stranded owing to the extreme weather conditions in Uttarakhand.

According to the initial information available from the Revenue Department, at least four trekkers have also lost their lives owing to the intense weather conditions in the region.

The rescue operations with the support of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have begun and six trekkers have already been rescued.

An Air Force helicopter has been requisitioned and the forest officials along with the local villagers are supporting the rescue operations. As of 12 noon, close to four helicopters from various agencies were being used for the rescue operations and the rescued trekkers are being airlifted to Dehradun to provide immediate medical care.

“The weather conditions are too bad there. There is heavy snowfall and rainfall because of which the visibility is poor and hence the rescue helicopter is not able to take off. However, two rescue teams are on foot to reach the stranded trekkers. Early this morning, when the weather conditions were relatively favourable, the rescue helicopter picked up two of the stranded trekkers whose health condition was deteriorating,” V Rashmi Mahesh, principal secretary, Revenue Department, told DH.

The state government is closely monitoring the rescue operations that are currently underway and the Karnataka Government is likely to send an officer to Uttarakhand to coordinate the rescue operations.

“We are yet to determine the exact situation of the trekkers. We will speak to those who have been rescued to get better information. The Uttarakhand Government has been very responsive and we will also depute an officer to reach Uttarakhand soon to coordinate rescue efforts. As and when the weather clears a little, we will send choppers to rescue the rest of the trekkers. Meanwhile, the teams on foot will also try to reach them,” Rashmi added.

Sources said that the officials on ground were confident of completing the rescue operations within Wednesday evening.

The trekkers are now said to be at one of the camping sites and sources said the trek was booked through a private mountaineering agency.