At least 10 people have been declared dead and 18 remain missing in the Himalayan mountains of India after several dozen mountaineers were caught in an avalanche Tuesday, police said Wednesday.
Fourteen people have been rescued from the site of the avalanche so far, which is near the summit of Mount Draupadi ka Danda-II in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
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“The rescue team has recovered 10 bodies. 14 injured were taken to ITBP Matli Camp, out of which 9 [have] minor injuries,” Uttarakhand state police tweeted Wednesday. “Five were admitted to District Hospital, Uttarkashi.”
The Indian air force and local disaster agencies are aiding in the rescue, which was interrupted by heavy snow and rainfall Tuesday night.
#Update पौड़ी गढ़वाल बस हादसा
अत्यधिक दुर्गम परिस्थितियों में लगभग 500 मीटर गहरी खाई में उतरकर SDRF, Fire और स्थानीय पुलिस टीमों द्वारा युद्धस्तर पर राहत एवं बचाव कार्य किया जा रहा है। #UttarakhandPolice #rescueoperation @ANINewsUP pic.twitter.com/RTcUjXQtfe
— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) October 5, 2022
The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said the expedition included 34 of its trainees, seven instructors, and a nursing assistant, according to Agence France-Presse.
“Deeply anguished by the loss of precious lives due to [a] landslide which has struck the mountaineering expedition carried out by the Nehru Mountaineering Institute in Uttarkashi,” India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Accomplished climber Savita Kanswal, who scaled Everest earlier this year and served as an instructor on the mountaineering expedition, was among the dead, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami confirmed.
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Avalanches are common in the mountain regions of Uttarakhand. A glacier burst in the state last year resulted in a flash flood that killed more than 200 people. Other Himalayan mountains also have treacherous terrain, including Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, which is the eighth-highest mountain in the world. Nepali climber Anup Rai was killed and a dozen others were injured and rescued after an avalanche struck Manaslu last month.
