Death Toll of Uttarakhand Missing Trekkers Rises to 9, Choppers Used for Rescue Ops

Dehradun: Search and rescue operations with the help of choppers continue for the second day on Thursday to locate the missing trekkers in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi .

Meanwhile, the death toll in this incident increased to nine on Thursday. Thirteen trekkers have been rescued so far.

On Tuesday, a group of 22 trekkers travelling to Sahastra Tal in Uttarakhand went missing after being stranded on top of a hill at an altitude of 15,000 feet on the Uttarkashi-Tehri border.

This trekking team included 18 members from Karnataka, one from Maharashtra and three guides from Uttarkashi. They started for Sahastra Tal on May 29 and were to return on June 7.

At around 4 pm on Tuesday, they found themselves stranded at the Kufri top due to extremely bad weather.

Five deaths were reported on Wednesday, which increased to nine on Thursday. NDRF personnel and two helicopters are involved in the rescue operation.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed remorse over the incident. The Air Force was also being roped in for help, the Uttarakhand CM told India Today TV.