Two tourists found dead near Manimahesh lake

Our Correspondent

Chamba, September 13

The bodies of two persons, including a woman, have been found near the Manimahesh lake in Bharmour. One person has reportedly been missing.

The bodies were recovered and being brought to Bharmour, said SSP Arul Kumar late this evening. He added that the details regarding the incident were still awaited as no communication could be established with rescue teams.

As per the information, the deceased started tracking despite a ban due to the pandemic. A local, who had gone to the lake, spotted the bodies of two persons.

The rescue operations could take around 12 to 14 hours, the SSP said. However, as per preliminary information, the deceased have been identified as Himangi Mehta of Gujarat and Vinod Kumar of Ludhiana. The search for Rahul of Ludhiana is still going on.

The probability of the trekkers dying due to the lack of oxygen owing to high altitude and extreme weather conditions could not be ruled out. Manimahesh has been witnessing snow and heavy rain for the past two days.

“However, the exact cause of the deaths could be ascertained after the post-mortem,” the SSP added.

One more death was reported on the Manimahesh track yesterday. The deceased was identified as Aman, a resident of Chamba.