{"id":324,"date":"2022-10-07T03:29:24","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T03:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guncoupons.net\/?p=324"},"modified":"2022-10-07T03:29:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T03:29:24","slug":"at-least-16-mountaineers-on-a-training-climb-killed-by-massive-avalanche-in-the-indian-himalaya-the-outdoor-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guncoupons.net\/?p=324","title":{"rendered":"At Least 16 Mountaineers on a Training Climb Killed by Massive Avalanche in the Indian Himalaya \u2013 The Outdoor Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Note: This is a developing news story with reporting by\u00a0journalist\u00a0Yogesh Kumar in India, and will be updated with the latest information\u00a0available. File photo from The Outdoor Journal archives showing trainee mountaineers from the Nehru Institute trekking towards Dokriani Bamak glacier, with the Draupadi ka Danda peak on the top right of the photo.<\/i><\/p>\n

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A group of student mountaineers and instructors from India\u2019s famed Nehru Institute of\u00a0Mountaineering<\/a> (NIM) were hit by an avalanche on Oct 4 at 08:45 am when descending from the summit of Draupadi ka Danda 2\u00a0(5,670 meters), a peak in the Gangotri range of the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India.<\/p>\n

Based on official reports, there were 34 students, 7 instructors, and 1 medical assistant on the peak at the time. Some survivors made it back to camp while most were trapped up high on the glacier.<\/p>\n

The trainee mountaineers were said to be roped up for safety in multiple groups while\u00a0descending to Base Camp down the Dokriani Bamak glacier. Several injured climbers were rescued but most were trapped under snow or fell into crevasses on the glacier.<\/p>\n

The trainees were on a 28-day \u2018Advanced Mountaineering\u2019 course and had\u00a0been in the backcountry since Sept 25. A combined search and\u00a0rescue operation is underway with teams from the Indian Air Force, Indo-Tibetan\u00a0Border Police (ITBP), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and National Disaster\u00a0Response Force (NDRF). Yesterday, an expert rescue team from the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg, Jammu\u00a0& Kashmir, also flew in to provide additional support.<\/p>\n

The Outdoor Journal<\/em> spoke with the NIM registrar and the principal for the latest update on the\u00a0rescue operation. According to them, 12 bodies of trainees were retrieved\u00a0today. This takes the mortality count to 16, of which 14 were trainees, and two were\u00a0instructors at NIM. Another 13 people are still missing, while 13 have been rescued\u00a0alive.<\/p>\n

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering Rescue Bulletin 06 Oct 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The inclement weather is hindering accessibility and rescue operations, as well as the comparative remoteness of the region. Of the\u00a0two instructors who died, one was the 26-year-old Savita Kanswal, who had climbed Everest and Makalu over 16 days this year.<\/p>\n

One of the rescued trainees defined the incident as horrific,\u00a0and they had no time to react when the avalanche slab hit them, he said.<\/p>\n

The region where the incident occurred is about 22 kilometres from the road-head\u00a0with no network connectivity. The ITBP plans to set up a communication centre at\u00a0the base camp. Trekking and mountaineering activities have been banned in Uttarkashi\u00a0district for the next three days due to the meteorological department\u2019s rain and snow\u00a0alert.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1965, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering is a premier mountaineering\u00a0institute in India. The Institute had chosen the region around the Dokriani Bamak glacier as\u00a0their training ground for several decades because it had been considered safe. The peak of Draupadi ka Danda\u00a0has had a safe and successful record with no deaths in the past, until this unfortunate incident happened, explained\u00a0NIM\u2019s former principal Col. (Retd.) Ajay Kothiyal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n