Uttarakhand avalanche: 10 bodies spotted, 4 recovered; rescue work halted | Top updates
Uttarakhand Avalanche: NIM principal Colonel Amit Bisht said 10 bodies were spotted, of which four have been recovered, after a 41-member team from the institute was trapped when the avalanche struck at Draupadi Ka Danda-II mountain peak in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi.
An avalanche at Draupadi Ka Danda-II mountain peak in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi claimed at least four mountaineers, while rescue operations were underway for others, said the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) on Tuesday.
NIM principal Colonel Amit Bisht said 10 bodies were spotted, of which four have been recovered, after a 41-member team from the institute was trapped when the avalanche struck at around 17,000 feet involving a group of several dozen climbing trainees.
However, the State Disaster Management Authority has confirmed four deaths.
Watch: Deadly avalanche strikes Uttarakhand Mountain; 10 killed, IAF searches for 23 others
The disaster management authority said a team of five SDRF personnel and three instructors from NIM were dropped off at the institute's Dokrani Bamak glacier base camp to conduct the search and rescue operation.
Ridhim Aggarwal from the SDRF told news agency AFP that 42 members were trapped in the avalanche, out of which four are confirmed dead and 12 people have been rescued.
Here are top updates on the Uttarakhand avalanche:
>Aggarwal said the operation was halted for the night since there was heavy snow in the area.
>The group was stuck in a crevasse after the avalanche struck around 8:45am on the 5,670-metre Mount Draupadi ka Danda-II.
>The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said the group included 34 of its trainees and seven instructors.
>Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the National Disaster Response Force and the Indian army deployed teams to help with rescue efforts. The Indian air force deployed two helicopters to search for the missing.
>Rapid, relief and rescue operations are underway by the district administration, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, Dhami said.
>Defence minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply anguished by the loss of precious lives due to the landslide” and spoke to Dhami and took stock of the situation.
>Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar told news agency ANI that IAF helicopters were deployed for the search and rescue operation.
>ITBP PRO Vivek Pandey said all injured and stranded will be taken to a helipad at almost 13,000 feet first from where they will be brought down to Matli helipad. Will be using ITBP hospital.
(With inputs from agencies)
