Ten trainee mountaineers have been killed while eight others have been rescued after as many as 29 of them, all trainees at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Mountaineers Institute (NIM), got trapped in Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak in Uttarakhand following an avalanche. Rapid relief operations are underway to rescue those trapped.
Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar told ANI that eight of the trainees have been rescued safely. IAF helicopters have been deployed for search and rescue operations, he added. Earlier today, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took to Twitter to inform of the incident and said that the government has reached out to the Union Ministry of Defence to seek the Army’s assistance for a speedy rescue.
“Have spoken to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to request Army assistance in order to expedite the rescue operation. He has assured us that all possible help will be provided by the central government. A rescue operation is underway to bring out everyone safely,” CM Dhami said on Twitter.
Rapid relief and rescue operations are being carried out by the district administration, NDRF, SDRF, Army and ITBP personnel along with the team of NIM to rescue the trainees trapped in the avalanche in Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak at the earliest, the CM added.