INEWS21 Dehradun Nov 02, 2026
Rescue teams in Uttarakhand have not been able to track whereabouts of eight missing trekkers, including five from West Bengal and two from Lucknow, on the third consecutive day in Kedartal Trek on Gangotri glacier zone. Aerial Search operation by helicopter had to be called off late Monday afternoon due to bad weather in Gangotri region.
Search operation to locate eight trekkers missing for more than three days on Kedartal Trek in Gangotri area of Uttarkashi yielded no result on third day as well. This despite the search was intensified by multiple rescue teams to find missing trekkers with the help of helicopter. Heli recce had been going on for the past three days since October 31 but rescuers have been clueless about the missing trekkers so far. Uttrakashi district administration and officials of department of disaster management told, on the condition of anonymity, that stranded trekkers from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh were feared trapped in the avalanche and snowfall near Bhoj Kharak and Kachhi Dhang areas of Kedaral.
Officials informed that expectations were high on Monday as Uttarkashi district administration and rescue agencies NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army and disaster management department were able to drop an expert team at stranded trekkers’ last known location but it too resulted into failure as the operation was called off midway due to inclement weather. One rescue team including experts from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) and SDRF was already trying to locate the missing trekkers with renewed Helicopter recce on November 2.
State administration in Dehradun sent the helicopter for the Army Helipad at Harsil in the morning. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) helicopter left for Kedartal with an eight-member rescue team including experts from NIM and SDRF for fresh recce of identified locations to trace the missing persons but they failed.
Among missing trekkers were five identified as 30-year Tapas Bauri, Ratan Ghosh, 23, Manoj Khovas,39, Rintu Mandal,40, Uday Ghosh,30, all from Bankura District of West Bengal. Other three included Uttar Pradesh’s Vartika Verma, 28, and Dipika Verma 29, along with Siddharth Rana,29,of Bhatwari in Uttarakhand.
After Saturday’s heli recce failure SDRF conducted second aerial SAR operation on Sunday to locate missing trekkers around Bhojh Kharak and Kacchi Dhang area but they remained clueless about trekkers location once again. An NDRF team also carried out a search operation along Kedartal trek, but they too failed to find whereabouts of stranded trekkers.
District Disaster Management Officer Shardul Gusain informed that helicopter’s inability to fly at lower altitude due to deep gorges and narrow valleys in the region was a major difficulty on Sunday’s heli recce by NDRF and SDRF.
A 12-member team of trekkers and supporting staff had started off for Kedartal trek on October 27. However seven trekkers from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh along with a local guide, got trapped near Bhoj Kharak area due to heavy avalanche and snowfall owing to the inclement weather condition. Four members of the team including three porters and one cook were rescued and taken to Gangotri safely on October 30. Based on the information provided by them teams of SDRF, NDRF, Indian Army and Forest Department launched search operation for the missing persons on October 31.
However rescue team sent to Bhoj Kharak and Kachhi Dhang were forced to call off search operation due to bad weather in high altitude of Gangotri National Park and Glacier zone.
