New Delhi, June 6
Five trekkers died of extreme cold in Uttarakhand's Sahastra Tal Trek after being stranded on top of a hill at an altitude of 15,000 feet on the Uttarkashi-Tehri border.
Nine of the 22 trekkers were rescued, while 13 remained stranded on Kufri Top. Of those left on the hill top, five died of extreme cold weather.
The Uttrakhand police said that a group of 22 trekkers from Karnataka and Maharashtra were stranded at the Kufri top due to extremely bad weather, while coming back from the Sahastra Tal Trek.
They began the trek on May 29 and were scheduled to be back by June 7.
The Uttarkashi and Tehri Disaster Management Centre was alerted about the incident. Soon after, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were sent for rescue and relief, police added. The rescue operations have been halted for now due to rough weather conditions.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed remorse over the incident and said that appropriate relief will be provided. The Air Force was also being roped in for help.
Sahastra Tal Trek is a popular trek located in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand is situated at an altitude of about 15,000 feet, the Sahastra Tal trek starts from Rishikesh. The distance from Rishikesh to Kamad village is about 130 km. The climb to Sahastra Tal Trek starts from the Kush Kalyan base camp in Uttarkashi.
