Tragedy with four climbers dead in an avalanche in the Himalayas – 21 others trapped

At least four climbers were killed today by an avalanche in the Himalayasas announced by its authorities of India.

Indian media, however, raise the death toll to 10, after the avalanche that overwhelmed climbers at an altitude of 4,880 meters in the state Uttarakhand.

“We have confirmed the death of four people, out of the 33 who were trapped (in the snow). The eight were rescued, the rest are in a crevasse” in the glacier, Ridhim Agarwal, the head of Uttarakhand’s rescue service, told AFP. “It was snowing but the weather has improved now and we have started the rescue operation with the help of air force and other services. The operation will continue as long as the weather permits and until everyone is safely extricated,” he stressed.

This group consisted of apprentice climbers of a local school.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh lamented the “loss of precious lives due to a landslide” during the educational trip organized by the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarakashi city.

In August, a climber was found dead two months after falling into a crevasse while traversing a glacier in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Last week, the body of famous skier and mountaineer Hilary Nelson was found on the slopes of Manaslu, a mountain in Nepal. Nelson’s tracks were lost while she was skiing down the eighth highest mountain on the planet. On the day of the accident, an avalanche hit Camps 3 and 4 on the 8,163-meter mountain, killing Nepali climber Anoop Rai. Ten other people were injured.

There are insufficient studies on the effects of climate change in the Himalayas, but climbers notice that cracks are widening, there is water in formerly snow-covered areas and glacial lakes are increasing.

RES-EMP

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