Two die on Lahaul-Spiti trek, ITBP rescues 11 others

Kaza: In a tragic incident, two persons who went for the Lahaul-Spiti trek were found dead. Eleven others were rescued by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The troops are bringing back the bodies of the two trekkers on stretchers on foot to the base camp.

Four mountaineers and seven porters were brought down from Dhar Thango to Ka village escorted by ITBP and further taken to Himachal Pradesh’s Kaza and handed over to local administration in the presence of SDM and ADM Kaza.

“All are now kept under observation in Kaza hospital. One mountaineer and one porter have mild symptoms of frostbite,” the ITBP said.

“Remaining 4 porters have also been traced at the glacier point and 2 dead bodies are being carried by the ITBP men on stretchers on foot to the base camp. The road head is approximately 27 Kilometers away from the glacier point from where the dead bodies are being carried by the ITBP men,” it added.

A joint team of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Army and Civil Administration had been launched yesterday from Kaza for a rescue mission towards the higher reaches of Manali-Khamengar Pass- Manirang in Lahaul-Spiti Himachal Pradesh.

A team of mountaineers from West Bengal and local porters were reportedly stranded at the high mountain range at approximately 18,000 feet. 14 members of the team including three trekkers and 11 porters were stranded at the site.

The trekking expedition started from Manali on September 17. On September 25, while the team was passing down from Khamenger Pass, two members- Sandeep Kumar Thakurta, aged 48 years and Bhaskardeb Mukhopadhyaya, aged 61 died due to mountain sickness.