Picture : Twitter/ ANI
Ten mountaineers were killed in an avalanche at Mount Draupadi Ka Danda — II peak in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district on Tuesday, officials said.
A team of 34 trainee mountaineers and seven instructors from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering was caught in an avalanche while returning, NIM Principal Colonel Amit Bisht said.
Ten bodies were sighted, of which four have been recovered, he added. The avalanche occurred at 8.45 am, he said.
Uttarkashi Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said eight of those trapped were rescued by their team members.
The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and a team of mountaineers from the NIM have launched rescue operations, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a tweet.
There was a group from mountaineering institute who were on a mission to reach Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak, located at 18,000 ft. An avalanche came around 8am & 29 were trapped. 8 immediately rescued by members of team. No clarity on deaths yet, ITBP PRO Vivek Pandey Told ANI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a tweet said he spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the tragedy
Spoke to CM Uttarakhand, Shri @PushkarDhami and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to help the mountaineers who are still trapped.
I have instructed the IAF to mount the rescue and relief ops. Praying for everyone’s safety and well-being. 2/2
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 4, 2022
