Eight Trekkers Missing for Five Days in Uttarakhand Amid Heavy Snowfall

Eight individuals, including seven trekkers and a local guide, have been missing for five days during a trek to Kedartal in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district. Search operations were suspended on Monday evening due to heavy snowfall, according to officials. The group, comprising 13 people in total, departed from Gangotri on October 27 and was scheduled to return on October 29, but heavy snowfall and a sudden weather change blocked their route.

On October 30, the trekkers contacted their agency by phone, reporting they were stranded near Kachi Dhang. Porters and guides were dispatched to clear the path, leading to the safe discovery of four support staff members—three porters and a cook—near Kachi Dhang. However, the remaining eight could not be located, with an avalanche near Bhojkhadak further obstructing access to the area.

A 10-member Mountain Rescue Team (MRT), including six personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and four from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), was airlifted to the Kedartal valley on Monday. This team conducted aerial reconnaissance and a ground search. A separate nine-member team from the Gangotri National Park and Trekking Association searched the route from Bhojkhadak to Kedarkharak, locating a tent and a backpack in Kachi Dhang, but failed to establish contact with the missing individuals. The District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC) confirmed the suspension of operations due to deteriorating weather.

The missing trekkers include five from West Bengal: Tapas Bauri (30), Ratan Ghosh (23), Manoj Khovas (39), Rintu Mandal (40), and Uday Ghosh (30). Two from Uttar Pradesh, Vartika Verma (28) and Deepika Verma (29), are also missing. The guide, 25-year-old Siddharth Rana, is a resident of Utaron village in Uttarkashi. The district administration has informed their families, and rescue operations are expected to resume once weather conditions improve.

What to watch: Resumption of rescue operations as weather permits.

Editor's note: The draft comprehensively covers the status of the search, the specific individuals missing, and the rescue efforts described in the source.