Search resumes for eight missing on Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand

Dehradun, Nov 3 (PTI) A search operation for eight people, including seven trekkers, missing on the Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district resumed on Tuesday morning after being suspended a day earlier due to bad weather, officials said.

     The Uttarkashi district disaster management office said it received an update from the rescue team at 7.30 am that the operation had resumed as weather conditions had improved.

     Personnel from the Uttarakhand Police’s State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) are conducting the search amid difficult terrain and challenging conditions.

     The SDRF said on Monday evening that a tent and other items had been found at an altitude of around 4,000 metres.

     The Uttarkashi Forest Division has stopped issuing permits for treks at altitudes of 4,000 metres or above until weather conditions improve.

     “We are currently not issuing permits for treks above 4,000 metres as weather conditions are not favourable. Permits will be issued once the weather improves. The restriction will remain in force until further orders,” Divisional Forest Officer Jeevan Mohan Dagade said.

     The Lamkhaga Pass and Trikhanta treks are among the routes located above 4,000 metres.

     On October 27, a group of 13 people, comprising seven trekkers and six support staff, set out from Gangotri for the Kedartal trek. They were scheduled to return on October 29, but adverse weather, snowfall and glaciers blocking the route prevented their return, officials said.

     On October 30, the trekking agency sent a team of porters and guides, who cleared a path for around six kilometers.

     The District Emergency Operations Centre said on Saturday that four people had been found safe, while eight remained stranded beyond Bhojkhadak following an avalanche.

     A 10-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team left Uttarkashi for Gangotri on October 31 to join the rescue operation. Teams comprising two Forest Department personnel, seven members of the trekking agency and six SDRF personnel were also deployed towards Kedartal.

     An SDRF team from Gangotri had reached the Kedartal area for reconnaissance on November 1, but heavy snowfall and adverse weather hampered the operation, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)