Uttarakhand: 16 bodies recovered, HAWS Gulmarg joins op to find remaining 13 mountaineers

Day 3 of the rescue operation in the higher reaches of Uttarkashi saw the bodies of 12 more trainees being recovered taking the overall death toll in the avalanche accident to 16. 13 more people are still missing even as bad weather has hampered the operation.

Uttarkashi:Sixteen bodies have been recovered in the avalanche mishap that took place at Draupadi's Danda-2 peak in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district on Tuesday morning. Search for the remaining 13 people will resume on Friday as the heliborne rescue operation was stopped on Thursday due to bad weather, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said in a statement on Thursday.

Of the 16 dead, two are instructors and the rest are the trainees of the institute. It may be noted that a group of 44 mountaineers of the Institute, who went out for training in the high Himalayan region, was hit by an avalanche near Draupadi's Danda 2 mountain peak on Tuesday morning. Following the mishap, one of the worst in mountaineering history, a multi-agency rescue operation aided by IAF helicopters began on the same day and still continues.

Authorities have roped in soldiers from the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir to trace the remaining missing mountaineers trapped in the avalanche. Indian Army, ITBP, SDRF and district administration are engaged in the rescue operation.

Savita Kanswal, an ace mountaineer, who summited Mount Everest and Mount Makalu within 15 days is among the dead. On Tuesday, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami took stock of the rescue and relief operations by conducting an aerial survey. He directed the officials to expedite the relief and rescue work.

The Chief Minister also directed to provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 to the injured.