Bageshwar (Uttarakhand): The whereabouts of 14 people, mostly foreigners, stranded near Pindari Glacier in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand, have been traced. A team of NDRF and SDRF personnel has been dispatched to the spot to carry out a rescue operation.
A 14-member team of trekkers from overseas along with a guide were stuck near the Pindari glacier due to avalanches in the higher reaches of the Himalayas. These foreigners have been stranded near the glacier under Kapkot tehsil.
When the region was witnessing heavy snowfall accompanied by avalanches, these trekkers took refuge near a hutment located in the Pindari area. Official sources said that trekkers' luggage was buried under the snow.
Upon receiving information, officials from the tehsil administration alerted the NDRF and SDRF personnel to carry out the rescue operation. On April 3, the trekkers started an expedition and they went for registration at Jankuni, the last check post of the forest department. Thereafter, the team left for Pindari.
Forest Ranger Shankar Dutt Pandey said that the team had to go to Munsiyari, situated at the top of Pindari glacier, after crossing the Trail Pass. The ration and other essential items, including luggage, were buried under the snow. On Friday morning, ADM Chandra Singh Imlal, said, "We have learned that trekkers were safe. The rescue team has been dispatched to the spot. The stranded foreigners wil be brought to the base camp at the earliest."
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A joint team of NDRF and SDRF, besides officials from health, police, and forest departments have been dispatched to the spot to carry out rescue operations. District Magistrate Anuradha Pal, said, "If the need arises helicopter will also be sent to the spot to rescue the stranded foreigners."
