Mountaineer from Arunachal goes missing; Army ropes in for rescue ops

Tapi Mra, the first mountaineer from Arunachal Pradesh to conquer Mount Everest, has gone missing.

As per reports, Tapi Mra and his assistant Niku Dao have gone missing after they set out on an official expedition to explore the Khyari Satam mountain in the state’s East Kameng district.

Reportedly, Tapi Mra and Niku Dao have not returned to the base camp for a week now. Five porters who accompanied them to the base camp have returned in the meantime, however, there is no news about Tapi Mra and his assistant.

Meanwhile, the East Kameng district administration yesterday sought the services of the army choppers to carry out recce and rescue operations in the area in a bid to search for the two missing mountaineers.

East Kameng DC Pravimal Abhishek Polumatla wrote to the state government’s secretary for civil aviation for the requisition of the services of army choppers.

Reportedly, the location from where Mra and his team have gone for the expedition is quite inaccessible and takes 6 days of a foot march from the last village.

In the meantime, the DC had also directed Yomgam Marde, the Circle Officer of Sawa, to proceed towards Veo Venia village from where the expedition was launched.

Meanwhile, two army choppers are set to conduct an aerial survey of the area today depending on the weather condition in the area.

So far, the aerial survey work is yet to begin as the area is experiencing inclement weather. Meanwhile, special teams are also ready to be deployed. As per sources, once the aerial survey finds some clue, the special teams will be airdropped in the area to conduct ground search operations.