In brief
A group of eight trekkers, most from West Bengal, went missing on Oct. 29 amid heavy snowfall and avalanches on Uttarakhand's Kedartal trek. Seven bodies were recovered over the next few days, with the last found on Nov. 6. One trekker is still missing, and search efforts continue.
In northern India's Uttarakhand, a trekking group of eight went missing on the Kedartal trail on Oct. 29, when heavy snowfall and avalanches triggered a crisis that claimed the lives of seven of the party. The bodies of the seven trekkers have now been recovered, though one member remains missing, the local government said on Friday.
The eight‑person party included a trekking guide and the bulk of the trekkers were from the eastern state of West Bengal. Under the harsh weather conditions of the Himalaya, the group never returned to their base camp, and a multi‑agency search and rescue mission was launched to find them.
Search operations were repeatedly hampered by the extreme snow and sudden avalanches that swept through the Kedartal area. Teams from the Uttarakhand police, forest department and the National Disaster Response Force worked together to canvass the route, but hazardous terrain slowed progress considerably.
Recovery efforts began in earnest on Nov. 4 when two bodies were retrieved from a hard‑packed snowbank, identified by authorities as Rintu Mondol, 40, and Uday Ghosh, 30. Their remains were air‑lifted to the Matli helipad in Uttarkashi district, where officials began preparations to give them to their families.
In the days that followed, additional bodies were recovered at different points along the trail. By Nov. 5, the bodies of a third and fourth trekkers had been located, and the remaining four were found over the following two days. A total of seven bodies were collected and flown to the helipad for final handling.
Local officials have stated that the recovered bodies are being handed over to the families, who have been waiting for confirmation that their loved ones have been found. The text of the official statement said the authorities would arrange the handover to the families, referencing the cultural and emotional importance of this process.
Despite these recoveries, one trekker has yet to be located. The lost member is expected to be under the same snow that buried the others, and search teams are continuing to probe both the original path and adjacent slopes, hoping that the missing person has survived or that additional signs can be found.
The tragedy has drawn attention to the increasing risk posed by extreme winter weather in the region, prompting discussions about better safety protocols for trekkers and clearer communication of mountain conditions in the Uttarakhand tourism sector.
