Bodies of two more Uttarakhand trekkers recovered from near Himachal border

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 23

Bodies of two more people from an 11-member trekking team that had gone missing on their way to Chitkul via Harsil in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand were recovered on Saturday by ITBP personnel from near the Himachal Pradesh border, officials said on Saturday.

The trekkers, Upendra Singh (37) from Purola in Uttarkashi and Richard Mandal (30) from Kolkata, were found buried in snow near Lamkhaga Pass at a height of 15,000 feet in Himachal Pradesh, and are being transported to Sangla, and then on to Uttarkashi, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit said.

The bodies were spotted on Friday, but could be recovered on the resumption of rescue operations on Saturday, he said.

Bodies of five other trekkers had been brought down on Friday. Two people who survived are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Harsil and Uttarkashi. Two more people---Purola resident Gyan Chand (33) and Kolkata resident Suken Manjhi (43)---are still missing.

Meanwhile, the search for the missing trekkers was halted due to bad weather at a height of 12,000 feet and will resume as soon as possible, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Dikshit said.

—   With PTI inputs