Uttarakhand Avalanche: Death toll mounts to 19, 10 still missing

A total of 19 bodies have been recovered in rescue operations at the Draupadi ka Danda mountain peak in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, where an avalanche hit a team of mountaineers on October 4, according to officials.

Efforts are on to find the missing persons.

Out of the 19 bodies, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team deployed for the rescue operation brought four bodies to the summit camp, while 15 bodies were recovered at the site of the accident.

Today, efforts are being made to bring the bodies to the Matli helipad by Advanced Light Helicopter, said Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar.

Also Read: Assam mountaineer Deepshikha Hazarika among others missing in Uttarakhand Avalanche

Meanwhile, personnel from teams of the SDRF, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), the Air Force, the Army, and the High Altitude War School in Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir have been deployed in the rescue operations.

12 bodies were recovered on Thursday. Of the total bodies recovered till Thursday, 14 were of trainees and the remaining two were of instructors.

According to a release by the NIM, 41 people, including 34 trainees and 7 mountaineering instructors, were hit by the avalanche.

The NIM said that the Advanced Mountaineering Course commenced on September 14 at Uttarkashi and the course moved to the mountain on September 23. They arrived at the Base Camp on September 5.

The avalanche occurred at a height of 17,000 feet at around 8. 45 am while the team was returning after summiting Draupadi Ka Danda II peak.