The search operations for the three missing mountaineers were hit due to heavy snowfall on Friday at Uttarkashi near the Draupadi ka Danda's peak.
So far, 26 bodies have been recovered by the rescue operations team from the avalanche-hit area. Out of the 26, four bodies have been handed over to their families. According to the officials, efforts are on to hand over the rest of the bodies as well.
District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhella said that not all bodies have been identified yet. The bodies of those identified have been informed to their relatives, he added.
Twenty-nine members of a team from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) had gone missing after an avalanche hit them on their way back from the summit, according to the NIM.
With weather conditions obstructing the search efforts, relatives who have come to Uttarkashi from different parts of the country are getting impatient.
District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said that aerial rescue operations can be resumed only after the weather improves.
A heavy rain alert was issued by the meteorological department for several hill districts in Uttarakhand including Uttarkashi where schools were closed on Friday and disaster management teams were put on alert.
Army, IAF, NIM, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, High Altitude Warfare School (Jammu and Kashmir) and State Disaster Response Force along with the district administration are conducting the search operations.
The avalanche occurred at a height of 17,000 ft on Tuesday, when a team of the NIM was returning after scaling Draupadi Ka Danda II peak.
(With inputs from PTI)
