In Uttarkashi avalanche, 10 bodies recovered; CM Dhami condoles death of Savita Kanswal

In the latest development in the Uttarkashi avalanche disaster, the mortal remains of 6 mountaineers were recovered on Wednesday morning taking the confirmed death toll so far to 10, informed Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar. Notably, four bodies were recovered on Tuesday. He stated that as the weather was clear, teams of SDRF, ITBP, and NIM (Nehru Institute of Mountaineering) were sent by Air Force helicopters. Around 20 mountaineers are still missing and search operations to find them are underway. 

"Today the weather was clear, so teams of SDRF, ITBP, and NIM were sent by Air Force helicopter. Today 6 bodies have been recovered, till now a total of 10 bodies have been recovered. Around 20 are missing & search op is underway," said the Uttarakhand DGP.

CM Dhami condoles the death of Mountaineer Savita Kanswal

Savita Kanswal, the first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest and Mount Makalu was one of the 10 deceased mountaineers. Kanswal was a resident of village Launthru of Uttarkashi district made a national record by hoisting the Tricolour on Mount Everest on May 12, 2022. She then successfully climbed Mount Makalu peak within 15 days of scaling Everest. 

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his grief as the nation lost a daughter of Uttarkashi. He shared a picture and tweeted, "The news of the death of Himalayan daughter Savita Kanswal Ji due to the Avalanche that occurred in Draupadi's Danda-2 mountain peak is extremely sad. She had scaled Mount Everest in May itself. May Baba Kedar grant the virtuous soul a place at his feet and give the bereaved family members the strength to bear this immense pain. Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:".

Six Mountaineers rescued 

Out of eight mountaineers rescued by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), 6 reached Matli in Uttarkashi on Wednesday where they are being provided with first aid treatment. These people were evacuated via chopper to the 12th Battalion ITBP in Matli, Uttarkashi.

Uttarakhand Avalanche 

On Tuesday, as many as 41 mountaineers were trapped by an avalanche at Draupadi Ka Danda-II mountain peak in Uttarakhand. They were on an expedition of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM). According to a release by the NIM, 41 people, including 34 trainees and 7 mountaineering instructors, were hit by the avalanche.  The institute said that the as per the training schedule, the climbers moved to the mountain on September 23 after the revision of rock-climbing training at NIM and Tekhla rock climbing training area.

The ITBP, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force along with local police started the rescue operation as soon as they received the information about the incident.

(Image: ANI)