Trekking tragedy: Four bodies yet to be recovered amid inclement weather

The Karnataka government is making all efforts to send back to Bengaluru the bodies of five trekkers, who died during the Sahastra Tal trek in Uttarakhand after being caught in a blizzard, while efforts are on to trace four more missing bodies. The efforts, however, have been tough in the extremely treacherous terrain and inclement weather near the Silla-Sahasrta Tal track in Uttarkashi district.

Efforts to recover four bodies will continue on Thursday. The search operation was called off on Wednesday afternoon due to bad weather.

Though hailing from different parts of Karnataka, the trekkers in the group were residents of Bengaluru and some of them are aged over 60.

Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who rushed to Uttarakhand on Wednesday to oversee the rescue operation, told The Hindu on the phone that the priority was to recover the remaining four bodies from the mountain.

“We will get to know about the transportation of the bodies by early on Thursday morning. Five bodies are in Uttarkashi that need to be moved to Dehradun, which is dependent on the weather. Four more bodies are yet to be recovered from the trekking route,” he said. “Our objective is to get all the nine bodies to Dehradun by Thursday evening. If everything works well, we will try to bring the bodies Thursday night.”

While the trekking group from Karnataka got stuck in bad weather on June 3 afternoon, it was only by June 4 evening that the information was received by the Uttarakhand administration. The Karnataka government received information from the District Emergency Operation Centre of Uttarkashi following which the State government started the coordination effort.

Those who made it back

Earlier on Wednesday morning, 11 trekkers were brought to Natin helipad by Air Force helicopters while two persons trekked to reach Sila village and were treated at the Uttarkashi district hospital. The Air Force’s Cheetah helicopter brought down five bodies to Natin helipad, a note from the State government said. By Wednesday evening, eight trekkers who were rescued had been sent to Dehradun, while three trekkers are staying in Natin-Bhatwadi and two trekkers are returning via Sila village. The distance between Uttarkashi and Dehradun is about 150 km.

In a massive search operation launched to rescue and recover trekkers in distress, the Uttarakhand administration pressed officials of the Forest Department and Revenue Department, Home Guards, and ITBP personnel besides personnel from the SDRF and the NDRF. Two private helicopters were also pressed into service for reconnaissance and relief operations that assisted in aerial rescue operations. As many as five teams from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering have been deployed for the rescue operation, the note said.

CM’s assurance

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a statement here said the State government would hand over the bodies of the trekkers to the family members and bring home those who have survived the ordeal. Expressing sadness over the death of nine trekkers, he said the government was making every effort to ensure the safe return of trekkers and ensure that there was no inconvenience. Some of the rescued trekkers met Mr. Gowda and also spoke to the Chief Minister on the phone.