Climbers missing in Himalayas
More than 100 mountaineers are stranded in heavy snow in India’s Himalayas and at least one climber has died, an official said today.
“We have lost track of over 100 mountaineers, hikers, porters and guides from India and abroad who are stranded across Uttarakhand after heavy snowfall,” said P.C. Dandriyal, a local official in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
It has been snowing heavily in the mountains for the past 36 hours and weather forecasters expected more snow over the weekend.
The trekkers were part of four teams that included four Russian climbers, seven Germans, and one from Australia.
The rest are Indians and at least 60 cooks, porters and guides accompanied the climbers, said Dandriyal.
Three of the teams began their trek on September 18 while the fourth started the following day.
They were supposed to finish their trek on October 5.
The local government has requested for the defence ministry to send helicopters to search for the climbers.
