NEW DELHI - At least nine Indian trekkers died in the Himalayas after getting trapped during a blizzard, authorities said on Thursday, as rescue teams airlifted their bodies and five survivors to safety.
The Indian Air Force shared video on Thursday that showed rescue teams working near a helicopter in the snow-covered mountains.
The group of experienced mountaineers from the southern state of Karnataka were hit by heavy snowfall in the remote mountains of Uttarakhand state in north India, said Krishna Byre Gowda, a top Karnataka minister.
According to an official from the Karnataka disaster management department, 19 trekkers from Karnataka and three local guides had embarked on a high-altitude trek in the remote Sahastra Tal area when a blizzard struck around 2 pm on Tuesday.
“Snow intensified into a blizzard. By 6pm, 2 trekkers succumbed to bad weather. Snow and wind made movement impossible. Visibility dropped to nil. They huddled together for the night on the route. Some more succumbed in the night,” Gowda wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.
A guide with the group alerted rescuers about the situation on Tuesday evening after trekking for a while to find mobile network connectivity, and teams reached the spot early on Wednesday, the minister added.