Two more bodies recovered after Kedartal avalanche in Uttarakhand
Rescue teams have found two more trekkers, bringing the total number of fatalities to four from the group of eight missing in the area.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two more trekkers on Wednesday following an avalanche on the Kedartal route in Uttarakhand, according to Rediff. These two men are part of a group of eight people who went missing six days ago.
The group of 13, which included seven trekkers, began their trek on October 27. Adverse weather and snowfall blocked their return route on October 29. On Tuesday, the bodies of two trekkers, Vartika Verma, 28, and Deepika Verma, 29, were identified at the Uttarkashi District Hospital.
They were daughters of Narayan Verma from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
A 10-member team from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) is conducting search operations at Kedarkhadak. The teams are facing difficulties because 10 to 12 feet of snow has accumulated in the area. Rescuers are currently digging through the snow by hand as snow-removal machines cannot be deployed to the site.
District Magistrate Prashant Arya said family members of the two sisters from Uttar Pradesh and a relative of a trekker from West Bengal have arrived in Uttarkashi. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari noted that five trekkers from Bankura are missing and said the state government is communicating with Uttarakhand authorities. Officials are still working to identify the two men recovered on Wednesday.