Uttarkashi avalanche: Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor recounts narrow escape

The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor was leading the team of climbers, many of whom are still missing after being hit by a massive avalanche while returning from Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarkashi. Kumar said 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche.

Nayab Subedar Anil Kumar breaks down as he recalls the events of Tuesday. The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor was leading the team of climbers, many of whom are still missing after being hit by a massive avalanche while returning from Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarkashi. ''Within seconds, everything was enveloped by a thick cloud of snow,'' he tells PTI. Kumar was among the 14 injured mountaineers brought down by rescuers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) basecamp and admitted to the district hospital on Wednesday. Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the site, according to NIM, with the toll likely to increase as search and rescue operations continue for the missing mountaineers.

''There were 42 climbers in the team, including 34 trainees. I was leading them. Instructors Savita Kanswal and Naumi Rawat were behind me while the rest followed them. Just then, the avalanche hit and buried everything under thick snow within seconds,'' he said. Kumar said 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche. ''As I was ahead of the rest, I hung on to the left of the crevasse. When the snow began to settle, I undid the ropes and started to rescue my teammates. The other instructors also joined in,'' he added. In the absence of proper tools, it took them two hours to remove the snow. Those who could be spotted were pulled out. Despite their efforts, 29 team members were stuck inside the crevasse, the instructor said. This was, however, Kumar's second close shave in the past 12 years. In 2010, when he was posted at the Gulmarg branch of Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering & Winter Sports, he was part of a 250-member team caught in an avalanche. While he escaped unscathed, 18 trainee climbers died in that incident. ''But the avalanche near Draupadi Ka Danda-II was much bigger,'' he said. NIM has been conducting training expeditions at the peak since 1975. The peak is named after Draupadi, a character from the Hindu epic 'Mahabharat', as it is believed that the Pandavas ascended to heaven from the site, former Char Dham Development Council vice-president Surat Ram Nautiyal said. Villagers of Bhatwari still worship the peak by conducting pujas on the banks of Kheda tal, a lake in the foothills.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)