In a joint effort, the Karnataka government, with support from the Uttarakhand government, has successfully rescued 13 out of 22 trekkers from Bengaluru who were stranded in the Sahastra Tal-Mayali stretch of the Garhwal mountain ranges in the Himalayas. Unfortunately, nine trekkers were found dead before the rescue team could reach them due to extreme weather conditions.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda confirmed the fatalities and assured that all surviving trekkers are stable. “I have personally met many of them. We have only been able to retrieve the bodies of the five deceased,” he said. Search operations had to be halted due to challenging weather conditions but will resume as soon as possible.
Efforts are being made to bring the survivors back to Bengaluru and to transport the bodies of the deceased. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has emphasized the government’s commitment to completing the search operations and has directed the Revenue Minister to oversee the efforts personally.
The trekkers, aged between 36 and 72, included survivors Bharat Bommanagoudar, Vivek Sridhar, Soumya Kanale, and others. The nine deceased were identified as Asha Sudhakar, Padmanabha Kundapur Krishnamurthy, and more. Over 50 officials from various agencies, including the State Disaster Response Force, Nehru Mountaineering Institute, and NDRF, were involved in the rescue operations.