Five Bankura trekkers among eight missing in snow on Uttarakhand's Kedartal trek
Uttarakhand's disaster response force says snow has held up its ground search, and two helicopter sorties found no sign of the group or their tents.
Five young trekkers from Bankura are among seven trekkers and a guide missing in heavy snow on the Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Monday that the state government was in constant touch with Uttarakhand's authorities.
The Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) began ground and aerial searches on Sunday, ANI reported. Its Gangotri team reached the Kedartal area for reconnaissance, but heavy snow and extreme weather stopped it advancing, and two helicopter sorties flown from Harsil found "no clear visual signs" of the trekkers or their tents. SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi ordered a special mountaineering team into the search, and a further team with rescue equipment is waiting to go in once the weather improves. When the group set out and when it was last in contact have not been reported.
In a post on X, Adhikari said he was "deeply concerned" and that Bengal was following the search through its Resident Commissioner's office in New Delhi and disaster management channels. "Our administration has reached out to the distressed families in Bankura," he said, adding that no effort was being spared to bring them back safely.
Kedartal, a glacial lake at about 4,750 metres above Gangotri, is a demanding high-altitude trek, and early-winter snow often closes the route.
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