At least five people stranded at the Uttarkashi district’s Auden’s Col Pass base camp were evacuated by helicopter on Monday, officials said on Monday. Trekkers, mountaineers and support staff remain stranded at high-altitude locations following snowfall in the upper Himalayan areas of Uttarkashi district.
The administration has also directed officials to ensure adequate supplies of ration, packed food and drinking water for trekkers and mountaineers. The health department has been kept on alert, with medical teams, essential medicines and ambulances to be stationed at nearby locations for immediate medical assistance, if required. They added that the district emergency operations centre is maintaining regular contact with expedition guides through satellite communication and monitoring the condition of people on the trekking routes.
136 mountaineers, trekkers and support staff are currently present in the district’s high-altitude areas, according to officials. Of these, 89 are part of high-altitude expeditions, while 18 are at the Kalindi Pass base camp and 29 at the Auden’s Col Pass base camp under the high-altitude trekking category.
Efforts are underway to evacuate others from high-altitude locations whenever weather permits, officials said. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) and forest department are also on alert, officials said. District magistrate Prashant Arya held a meeting with officials of various departments and agencies involved in disaster management on Sunday and directed them to ensure all necessary arrangements for the safety of people at trekking routes and base camps.
