As many as 29 trekkers, stranded at Auden’s Col in Uttarkashi after heavy snowfall, were safely evacuated by a helicopter on Monday. A separate rescue operation is underway for 19 trekkers stuck at Kalindi Khal in the high-altitude Kalindi Trek, the officials said.

The group of 29 trekkers were brought to Harsil after a helicopter rescue operation was launched after weather conditions improved. They were taken to the medical facility at the Army Base in Harsil, where medical teams are conducting preliminary health checks.

Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya said the trekkers had been stranded after heavy snowfall in the high-altitude Gangotri region left them unable to either descend or continue their expeditions.

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“The situation was so bad that neither could they move down nor could they continue the expedition,” Arya said, adding that the administration had been continuously monitoring the situation.

He said that as weather conditions cleared on Monday morning, a helicopter operation was carried out with the assistance of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA). The rescue teams reached the Auden’s Col area, where snowfall had accumulated to around 5-7 feet.

Arya said the snow had not melted because of the prevailing weather conditions, leaving the trekkers stranded.

The SDRF, district police, Indian Army, local administration and UCADA teams jointly conducted the rescue operation under the direction of SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi.

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“The entire team continuously updated the monitoring data,” Arya said, referring to the administration’s efforts to keep track of the stranded trekkers and expedition teams.

Meanwhile, 19 trekkers have been reported stranded at Kalindi Khal, also in Uttarkashi district. A rescue operation has been launched, and seven trekkers have been safely rescued so far, while efforts to evacuate the remaining 12 are underway

Arya said that a separate operation was also carried out on the Kalindi Trek, which is located at an altitude of around 5,400 metres, and three people were rescued from the area.

The Uttarkashi district emergency report stated the administration launched an evacuation operation from both bases at 6 am on Monday using four helicopters, along with SDRF, NDRF, police, health and district administration teams. By 10.24 am, all 29 members at Auden’s Col were evacuated to Harsil, while seven of the 18 people at Kalindi Base were evacuated by 12.40 pm, leaving 11 awaiting rescue.

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The report said the operation was mounted after a weather forecast indicated adverse conditions at high altitude; the IMD’s September 28 forecast separately warned of light-to-moderate rain/thundershowers at many places in Uttarakhand’s hill districts and snowfall at locations above 3,800 metres.

The district report also lists several other high-altitude expeditions in the Gangotri area, including Mt Sudarshan, Mt Bhagirathi II, Mt Jogin I, Mt Shivlinga, Mt Satopanth and Shrikhnath Peak, bringing the total number of people listed across high-altitude expeditions and trekking groups in the area to 136.