Army-led operation rescues 19 trekkers stranded in Uttarakhand snow
Nineteen trekkers and support staff, including a doctor from Mysuru, have been rescued after spending nearly three days stranded at about 18,500 feet in Uttarakhand’s snow-hit Kalindi Khal region. The group was airlifted to Harsil after heavy snowfall halted its journey from Gangotri to Badrinath.
A group of 19 trekkers and support staff stranded in Uttarakhand’s Kalindi Khal region has been rescued after heavy snowfall halted their journey for nearly three days, according to The Hindu. The group included Shivanand, an associate professor at the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Mysuru, and four other doctors from Bengaluru. They had begun trekking from Gangotri to Badrinath on September 18.
Their onward journey was stopped when heavy snowfall began in the Kalindi Khal area of Uttarkashi district on the morning of September 25. Shivanand said the snowfall continued for between 60 and 70 hours, preventing the group from reaching Badrinath as planned on September 28. The trekkers and their support staff, including porters, were stranded at an altitude of about 18,500 feet.
They survived on limited food supplies and melted snow for drinking water. Shivanand said their LPG supply, used to melt the snow, was also running short. A joint rescue operation was conducted on Tuesday by the Indian Army, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Uttarakhand Police and the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force.
After a short improvement in weather conditions, the authorities carried out multiple sorties to evacuate the group. The trekkers were airlifted from the Kalindi Khal region to Harsil in Uttarkashi district. Shivanand later said he was travelling towards Dehradun.
He also clarified that no mules had been used to carry luggage on the route. Several trekkers had also been stranded on the nearby Auden’s Col route, and most of them had been rescued, he said. The operation followed the authorities’ decision to use the brief respite in the severe weather to reach the high-altitude locations.
The supplied report did not give details of any serious injuries among the rescued trekkers or support staff.
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