Uttarakhand: Bodies of two more trekkers recovered from near Himachal border

Uttarkashi: Bodies of two more members of an 11-member trekking team that had gone missing on way to Chitkul via Harsil in Uttarkashi district were recovered on Saturday by ITBP personnel from near the Himachal Pradesh border.

The bodies found near Lamkhaga pass are being brought to Sangla from where they will be taken to Uttarkashi, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit said. The bodies were spotted on Friday, but could be recovered on the resumption of rescue operations on Saturday, he said.

They were identified as those of Upendra Singh (37) from Purola in Uttarkashi and Richard Mandal (30) from Kolkata, District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said. The bodies of five trekkers were brought down on Friday.

Two are still missing while two surviving members of the team are under treatment in Harsil and Uttarkashi.

Search operation for the missing trekkers has been halted due to bad weather at a height of 12,000 ft, the DM said, adding that it will be resumed as soon as the weather permits.

The missing have been identified as Purola resident Gyan Chand (33) and Kolkata resident Suken Manjhi (43), Patwal added.