Five trekkers rescued from Churdhar range in Himachal

The Sirmaur police on Saturday found and rescued five trekkers — two from Haryana and three from Himachal — who had gone missing while returning from the 11,965-ft-high Churdhar peak in the district on August 9.

The trekkers were members of two groups. They have been identified as Deepak and Vishal, both from Haryana’s Ambala Cantt and Karmveer Dogra of Shimla’s Kotgarh, Rajnee Kumar of Kangra and Om Prakash of Sirmaur’s Naina Tikker.

Sirmaur superintendent of police (SP) Ajay Krishan Sharma said the trekkers had lost their way while descending from the peak.

“A rescue team was sent to trace them after we came to know about the missing trekkers,” the SP said, and added that the youths from Haryana were rescued on Saturday morning, while those from Himachal were found in the afternoon in a forest below the peak.

Churdhar, the highest peak in lower Himalayas, has a great religious significance for people of Sirmaur, Shimla and Solan. The holy peak is related with Shirgul Maharaj, a deity widely worshipped in the region.

Of late, the trek has become favourite among backpackers. Earlier this year, two trekkers from Indore and Ludhiana had gone missing while climbing the peak and were rescued by a helicopter after 60 hours.