Assam Mountaineer among 28 Missing; 10 Bodies Recovered in Uttarakhand Avalanche

GUWAHATI: An Assam mountaineer is known to be among the 28 trainee mountaineers from NIM Uttarkashi trapped in an avalanche that hit Mount Draupadi Ka Danda-2 in Uttarakhand.

The mountaineer, undergoing training at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), has been identified as Guwahati's Deepshikha Hazarika, daughter of Golap Hazarika .

The list of NIM trainees trapped in Uttarakhand include those from the states of West Bengal, Delhi, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Uttarakhand avalanche was confirmed as 10 on Wednesday.

A release by the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) stated that 41 people, including 34 trainees and 7 mountaineering instructors were hit directly by the avalanche.

NDRF, SDRF, and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have continued carrying out extensive search and rescue operations on the high mountain peak, rescuing seven mountaineers.

Uttarkhand DGP said, "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."

NIM, in a release, had said on Tuesday "The Advance Mountaineering Course Ser No 172 commenced from 14 Sep 2022 at NIM Uttarkahi. As per course training schedule, after the revision of Rock-Climbing Training at NIM and Tekhla Rock climbing Training area the course moved to mountain on 23 Sep 2022(FN) with 34 trainees along with 07 mountaineering instructors Total 41 and 01 Nursing Assistant. The course arrived at Base Camp on 25 Sep 2022. The course was undergone the Ice & Snow Craft at Base Camp & Advance Base camp. As per training programme the course went for high-altitude training at Camp-I which was scheduled from 02 Oct to 04 Oct 2022. As per training schedule on 04 Oct 2022 the course moved for High Altitude Navigation and height gain to Mount Draupadi ka Danda-Il (5670m) at 0400 AM while returning back from the mountain peak the Advance Mountaineering Course were met with an avalanche occurred above camp-I in which 34 trainees and 07 mountaineering instructors were caught under avalanche at 08:45 hrs. The Rescue work is on progress as of now 04 bodies have been recovered. SDRF, NDRF and Indian Air Force are helping in the rescue."

The release confirmed that, as per training schedule on 04 Oct 2022, the course moved for High Altitude Navigation and height gain to Mount Draupadi ka Danda-Il (5670m) at 0400 AM. It was while returning back from the mountain peak the Advance Mountaineering Course were met with an avalanche that occurred above camp-I in which 34 trainees and 07 mountaineering instructors were caught under avalanche.

Meanwhile, a condolence message from Satyen Sarma, Chief Advisor,Assam Mountaineering Association said, "I have been left completely heartbroken and aghast by the news of the loss of lives of 10 young mountaineers at the Manaslu Base Camp today. This is a terrible, heart-wrenching tragedy and I extend my sincerest condolences to the bereaved families. I hope and pray that the Disaster Management authorities are able to successfully retrieve the bodies of the individuals.

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