Twelve trekkers set out on October twenty-seven

A group of twelve people departed for the Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand on October twenty-seven. Hours after they left, authorities received an alert for adverse weather expected two days later.

Permission granted but warning came too late

Mayank Garg, Deputy Director of Gangotri National Park, said the department granted permission for a three-day trek on October twenty-six.

“We could not inform the group about the alert as we could not make any contact with them.”

Trapped by rain and avalanches on October thirty

By October thirty, a day after the trekkers were expected to return, they were reported trapped by heavy rainfall and avalanches in the Kedartal area.

Five men from West Bengal among the missing

The eight missing trekkers include five men from West Bengal: Tapas Bauri, thirty; Ratan Ghosh; Manoj Khovas, thirty-nine; Ritu Mandal, forty; and Uday Ghosh, thirty.

Missing guide from Uttarkashi

The eighth missing person is Siddharth Rana, a twenty-five-year-old guide from Uttarkashi who was leading the trekking group through the Kedartal route.

No trace found in aerial searches

Arpan Yaduvanshi, Commandant of the Uttarakhand SDRF, told The Indian Express on Sunday that one team tried to reach the trekkers on foot but stopped because of avalanches.

“No tent, remains or anything of that sort has been found there so far. No distress call has also been detected.”

Four members rescued on October thirty-first

Four members of the group, three porters and one cook, were rescued on October thirty-first after rescue personnel cleared snow and created a route through the affected stretch.

Avalanches at ten to twelve locations

Mayank Garg said the avalanche-affected area near Sukhi Dhang was approximately eleven to twelve kilometres on foot from the entry point, with a direct aerial distance of around five point five to six kilometres.

Rescue teams turned back on October thirty

Rescue teams that moved towards the area on October thirty had to turn back after encountering multiple avalanches.On Sunday, teams moved further ahead with the intention of staying in the area and continuing the search.

Monday morning helicopter operation planned

Yaduvanshi said the SDRF would make another attempt on Monday morning, November two, to access the area by helicopter.

“After landing, we will conduct a manual search because there is no option left. We have not found anything in the aerial reconnaissance.”

Nine-member search team for Monday

Monday's search party would include a five-member high-altitude rescue team from the SDRF and a four-member team from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi. This would be the third attempt to access the area.

Kedartal route sees fewer trekkers

The Kedartal route sees relatively fewer trekkers compared with the Gomukh route, which accounts for around ninety-five percent of visitors undertaking treks in the area.

Pattern of recent trekking disasters

Uttarakhand has witnessed several such incidents recently.In October twenty twenty-one, seven members of an eleven-member trekking team on the Lamkhaga Pass route were killed in severe weather.