The key facts

  • Four members of the trekking group have died, two of them women, and four remain under the snow
  • The group set out on October 27 and was due to return on October 29, after which the search began
  • Rescue efforts are being conducted by the SDRF and NIM on the Kedartal route

Uttarakhand avalanche: four dead, four missing

The death toll from an avalanche in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand has risen to four, while four more members of the trekking group remain missing, local authorities said on Thursday. According to Uttarkashi district disaster management officer Shardul Gusain, the bodies of four people were found near Kedar Khark at an altitude of about 4,000 meters (13,123 feet). Among the dead are two women, and the missing trekkers, he said, are buried under snow.

Progress of the search operation

The group was part of a trekking expedition that set out on the route on October 27 and was due to return on October 29. When the trekkers failed to return on time, authorities launched a search operation. Joint teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) are working on the Kedartal route. Rescuers are hampered by heavy snowfall, poor visibility and difficult high-altitude terrain, which complicate the search for the missing.