Trekkers rescued from Khamenger glacier by ITBP-Army team, brought to Kaza

Finally, there is a sigh of relief as the ITBP-Army team rescued all stranded trekkers from the Khamenger glacier today. All members except three are doing fine. Injured members are admitted to a hospital in Kaza.

The remains of the two climbers who lost their lives in this expedition have also been recovered and expectedly, will be brought to Kaza by tomorrow.

Sandeep Kumar Thakurata and Bhaskar Dev Mukhopadhyay, lost their lives on 25^th September during an expedition near Khamengar Glacier, Himachal Pradesh. Other team members along with local guides and porters remained stranded at about an altitude of 17830ft.

Dream Wanderlust got in touch with the Additional District Magistrate of Kaza, Mr. Mohan Das Sharma this afternoon and he confirmed the news of rescue operation saying, "All members along with their supporting staff are now with us in Kaza. A medical checkup has been done. They are all fit and fine, except three who require medical attention. Dead bodies are on halfway. Postmortem will be conducted tomorrow."

Rescued Members

An Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) rescue team with Dogra scouts and porters started off their trek to the Khamemngar Glacier yesterday to rescue the stranded climbers and to recover the remains of those who died during the expedition. They meet the trekkers who themselves were coming down on 28^th September evening. Doctors in the rescue team treated two frostbitten climbers.

This Trek team from Arette Mountaineering Foundation, West Bengal led by experienced mountaineer and explorer Debasish Bardhan started from Batal on 15th September 2021 and had a plan to cross the Khamengar glacier to reach Kaza. They were trying to open a new route to connect Lahul Himalaya and Spiti Himalaya.

However, they have successfully completed the traverse of the Bara Sighri Glacier and then crossed Parahio Col to get down to the Khamengar Valley and entered the Khamengar Gorge. According to Indian explorer Anindya Mukherjee, they should have encountered a series of abseils while descending the gorge. While they were rappelling the abseils, two senior members got completely exhausted. One member perished on the 24th and the other on the 25th of September 2021. One of the young members brought the news all the way to Kaza on 26^th September and organised the rescue operation.