Uttarkashi snow traps 136 in high-altitude Himalayas as Uttarakhand plans helicopter rescue

As many as 179 trekkers, including six foreign nationals, are stranded on high-altitude routes across Uttarakhand amid heavy snowfall and rain, prompting the state government to plan helicopter rescue operations from Monday morning, weather permitting.

In Uttarkashi, 136 mountaineers, trekkers and support staff remain in high-altitude regions — 89 members of high-altitude expeditions spread across Mt Sudarshan, Mt Bhagirathi-II, Mt Jogin-I, Mt Shivling, Mt Satopanth and Shrikhanth Peak, plus 18 at the Kalindi Pass base camp and 29 at the Auden’s Col Pass base camp. Another 43 are stranded in Bageshwar, across 13 groups.

Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, reviewing the disaster situation at the State Emergency Operation Centre on Sunday evening, directed officials to begin helicopter rescues from 6am on Monday, subject to weather conditions. “Rescue operations should be carried out on a war footing to ensure that all trekkers are evacuated safely,” he told officials.

District Magistrate Prashant Arya is monitoring the operation from the control room. Joint teams of the district administration, Forest Department, SDRF, police and disaster management personnel are moving stranded trekkers and porters to safer locations, with aerial reconnaissance via helicopter planned to assess conditions. The authorities have ensured adequate rations, packaged food and drinking water for those stranded, and put the Health Department on alert with medical teams, medicines and ambulances ready.

Most tourists stranded at Bhojwasa and Chirbasa have already been brought to safety with help from Gangotri National Park staff.

Separately, search teams are still looking for Ram Kumar Hanuman Gupta, 65, a tourist from Maharashtra who fell into a gorge estimated at 130 metres deep near Kachhidang on the Gangotri-Gaumukh route on September 25 and remains untraced. The pilgrimage to Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams has been suspended at the Hina and Dobata holding points after a red alert from the weather department.

Sources

• 179 trekkers stranded in Uttarakhand as rain disrupts roads — The Times of India
• Snowfall traps 136 in Uttarkashi’s high-altitude regions; rescue operation underway — The Times of India
• Uttarkashi Snowfall: Rescue Teams Mobilised As 136 Stranded Across High-Altitude Passes — ETV Bharat
• Breaking News LIVE Updates, September 28, 2026 — News9Live