Uttarakhand, Oct. 5: Ten trainee mountaineers were killed after an avalanche hit them on a mountain in Uttarakhand today. Eight have been rescued and rescuers are searching for 11 more.
All the trainees are from Nehru Mountaineering Institute in Uttarkashi. Uttarakhand police chief Ashok Kumar said Indian Air Force helicopters are helping in the rescue effort. The avalanche hit the team at 9 am at an altitude of 16,000 feet.
A rescue officer said the injured trainees are being flown to a nearby helipad at a height of 13,000 feet, and then to state capital Dehradun.
A team of 34 trainee mountaineers and seven instructors from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was caught in an avalanche while returning, NIM Principal Colonel Amit Bisht was quoted saying by news agency PTI. 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.
An SDRF team left from Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun to rescue the trainees trapped in the avalanche. CM Dhami said that he has spoken to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and requested help from the army to speed up the rescue operation. He has assured us to give every possible help from the Centre. A rescue operation is being conducted to bring out everyone, Dhami said.
