Dehradun : Sixteen bodies of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) mountaineers have been recovered from Draupadi Ka Danda – II mountain peak so far, the NIM bulletin stated on Thursday.

A 41-member team consisting of 34 trainee mountaineers and seven instructors had gone to summit the Draupadi Ka Danda – II mountain peak and were hit by a massive avalanche at 8.45 am on Tuesday. At least 14 mountaineers got trapped in the avalanche at the height of 17,000 feet.

“Search and rescue operation is in progress at the disaster site. Heliborne operation have been stopped due to bad weather. Evacuation of dead bodies by helicopter will be resumed on 7 October 2022 morning depending on the weather conditions,” a statement from NIM stated.

Uttarakhand | Total 16 bodies recovered (two instructors & 14 trainees) till now, after an avalanche hit the mountaineers on Draupadi Ka Danda-II on October 4: Nehru Institute of Mountaineering pic.twitter.com/4LefXRsPqw
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) October 6, 2022

Earlier on Wednesday, the Uttarakhand police released a list of 28 trainee mountaineers who were missing. The missing team members are said to be stuck to the crevasse in Dokriani Bamak glacier where the avalanche struck. The trainees hail from several states like West Bengal, Delhi, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

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(With agency inputs)