Uttarakhand Avalanche:10 mountaineers are killed; The number is feared to rise, the rescue operation

At least 10 people are feared dead in an avalanche on the Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarakhand, where over 30 climbers from the Nehru Mountaineering Institute in Uttarakhand were trapped on Tuesday. The work of rescuing the trapped people is currently going on fast.

SDRF, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indian Air Force were involved in rescue operations.

#Uttarakhand | #SDRF teams leave from Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun to rescue the trainees trapped in an avalanche in Draupadi's Danda-2 mountain peak pic.twitter.com/W565cJQKGK

— TOI Uttarakhand (@UttarakhandTOI) October 4, 2022

The peak is located in the Gangotri range of the Garhwal Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand.

According to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials involved in the rescue and relief operations, the victims were part of a Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) team attempting to climb the DKD-2 peak as part of their advanced training. 34 coaches, seven mountaineering instructors and one nursing assistant, a communication from the NIM said the avalanche occurred around 8.45 am.

"The DKD-2 peak is located at around 14,000 feet and the base of NIM is around 13,000 feet. The incident happened near the base camp when they were yet to reach the peak. The entire area is covered with snow and our challenge is to reach there. Air force helicopters are working and since then , they will airdrop our teams or use a winch to rescue the trapped people,” said STRF Inspector General (IG) Ridhim Aggarwal.

Eight of the trainees were rescued safely, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar told ANI. IAF helicopters have been deployed for search and rescue operations, he said. Earlier today, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Thami took to Twitter about the incident and said that the government has approached the Union Ministry of Defense to seek the Army's help for a speedy rescue.

“I spoke to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami. The Chief and I took stock of the situation. The rescue of the still trapped climbers is underway. I have directed the IAF to carry out rescue and relief operations. Praying for everyone's safety and well-being," he added.

द्रौपदी का डांडा-2 पर्वत चोटी में हिमस्खलन होने के कारण नेहरू पर्वतारोहण संस्थान, उत्तरकाशी के 28 प्रशिक्षार्थियों के फंसे होने की सूचना प्राप्त हुई है।

— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) October 4, 2022