Uttarkashi avalanche: Two trainee mountaineers still missing; GPR to aid rescue

GPR is a geophysical locating method that uses radio waves to capture images below the surface of the ground in a minimally invasive way.

Uttarkashi:Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) on Monday brought Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology from Bengaluru to locate the two trainee mountaineers who are still missing after an avalanche near Mount Draupadi ka Danda-2 peak (5,670 meters) in Uttarakhand on October 4 (21 days ago) where a total of 27 bodies have been recovered till now.

GPR is a geophysical locating method that uses radio waves to capture images below the surface of the ground in a minimally invasive way. The 27th body of a trainee mountaineer reached Uttarkashi on October 14 subsequently the search operation continued. The rescue teams are looking for Lt Col Deepak Vashisht and Indian Navy sailor Vinay Pawar using GRP, and the rescue work is very challenging due to the height, said NIM registrar Vishal Ranjan.

Around 8:45 am on October 4, a team of 41 mountaineers (34 trainees and seven instructors) from NIM witnessed the avalanche near the Dokrani Bamak glacier while returning from high-altitude navigation on the peak out of which 29 mountaineers were hit by the avalanche and 27 bodies were recovered.

Colonel Amit Bisht, NIM principal lead the rescue operation carried out by NIM instructors along with jawans of the Indian Army’s Gulmarg-based High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS). Bisht said that 14 HAWS jawans were trained to operate GRP.