Uttarakhand: 9 trekkers of 22-member group dead due to bad weather, 13 rescued

Nine members of a 22-member trekking team died after they lost their way due to bad weather during the Sahastra Tal trek in the upper Himalayas in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, officials said on Wednesday, adding the remaining 13 trekkers have been rescued.

A joint air-ground operation was launched by the Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local authorities, officials said. Of the 13 trekkers rescued from the trek on Uttarkashi-Tehri border, eight were airlifted to Dehradun on Wednesday.

“Nine people have been killed, while 13 have been successfully rescued. We have brought 5 bodies down, remaining 4 will be retrieved tomorrow as we had to suspend the rescue operation due to bad weather today,” said a senior SDRF official, not wishing to be named.

A 22-member trekking team, including 18 trekkers from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra besides three local guides, was sent by Himalayan View Trekking Agency, Maneri, on May 29 on a 35-km long trek to Silla-Kushkalyan-Sahastra Tal, a medium-sized high-altitude lake located at an altitude of around 4,600 metres, from Uttarkashi.

The team was scheduled to return by June 7, but lost its way due to bad weather while trekking down from Sahastra Tal towards the base camp, said Uttarkashi district disaster management officer (DDMO) Devendra Patwal.

After receiving the information, the DM asked the SDRF headquarters to dispatch rescue teams immediately and asked local rescue teams to reach the site. Bisht also asked the heli rescue operations through the Indian Air Force to rescue the stranded trekkers.

On Wednesday, two Chetak helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and a private chopper were deployed to rescue the stranded trekkers on the trek route. The SDRF also dispatched two teams -- one each from Dehradun and Uttarkashi.

“The 22-member trekking group, including three guides, was expected to leave for the Sahastra Tal on May 29, two of them stayed back at the base camp due to bad health. Twenty of them reached the summit. While trekking down, the group met with the bad weather and lost their way,” said SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra.

While 13 members, including the two from the base camp, were rescued, five others were found dead, the official added.

“We along with other rescue teams rescued 11 trekkers using the choppers. Of the 11 trekkers, eight were sent to Dehradun in a chopper and three were brought to Bhatwari. Two more were on their way back to Silla village under the guidance of local guides,” Mishra added.

The deceased trekkers have been identified as Sindhu Vakekalam (45), Asha Sudhakar (71), Sujata Mungurwadi (51), Vinayak Mungurwadi (54), Chitra Praneeth (48), Padmanabha Kundapur Krishnamurthy (50), Venkatesha Prasad KN (53), Anita Rangappa (60) and Padmini Hegde (34), all residents of Bengaluru in Karnataka, officials said.

The office of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared on X that he was in regular touch with senior officials for the rescue operation.