Two US, UK women climbers stuck in Uttarakhand mountains rescued successfully

Dehradun: After a gruelling 80-hour rescue effort, two stranded mountaineers on the Chaukhamba Peak in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, have been successfully rescued on Sunday.

The operation was a joint effort involving the Indian Air Force, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, and local administration.

Chamoli's Disaster Management Department received an alert from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) on Thursday evening, notifying them that two mountaineers -- one from the US and the other from the UK -- were stranded at an altitude of 6,015 metres on Chaukhamba Peak. Following the alert, all relevant agencies were mobilised.

On Friday, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, along with Chamoli's Disaster Management Department, coordinated a rescue mission with the Indian Air Force and SDRF.

Despite numerous challenges, continuous efforts were made to safely evacuate the climbers, and both mountaineers were successfully rescued on Sunday.

The operation faced numerous difficulties in ensuring the safe evacuation of the mountaineers, according to the officials.

Relief swept through the district administration, SDRF, NDRF, and the Uttarakhand government as the operation concluded successfully.

The two foreign climbers had obtained permission from the Indian Mountaineering Association for a trekking expedition to Chaukhamba-Three, a peak rising to 6,995 metres, which is regarded as highly challenging. Their expedition, which began on September 11, was planned to conclude on October 18.

During their ascent on October 3, the climbers were stranded on the snow-covered Chaukhamba Peak. After contacting their respective embassies through a pager, the Chamoli district administration requested the Indian Air Force to initiate a search and rescue operation.

On Friday morning, two Chetak helicopters from the Sarangpur (Saharanpur) airbase were dispatched, and an extensive search began near Badrinath, culminating in the successful rescue.