DEHRADUN: The search operation for two missing foreign female tourists continued in the Chaukhamba-3 region of Uttarakhand for the third consecutive day on Saturday, with no success.
The missing persons Fay Jane Manneras (27) from the UK and Michelle Theresa Devorok (23) from the USA, went missing on Thursday while trekking here. They had permission from the Indian Mountaineering Training Association to climb Chaukhamba-3 peak valid from September 11 to October 18," a Disaster Management Office source said.
"On October 3, during their ascent of Chaukhamba peak, the two female mountaineers' equipment and bags slipped into a gorge, leaving them stranded on the snow-covered mountain," sources from the Disaster Management Office revealed.
The tourists used a pager to contact their respective embassies, prompting the Chamoli district administration to request the Indian Air Force's assistance.
Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said, "We received information on Thursday evening about the stranded foreign tourists. We requested the Air Force for a search operation on Friday morning."
On Friday, two IAF Chetak helicopters from Sarsawa Airbase in Saharanpur had also conducted an extensive search operation in the area, yielding no results. The search operations were also continued on Saturday, but unfortunately, their location remained unknown.
Chamoli's District Disaster Management Officer, Nand Kishor Joshi, told The New Indian Express, "The Forest Department has sought SDRF's help to deploy helicopters for search operations, while NDRF's team has also been dispatched from Dehradun following the district administration's request."
"The search operation will continue until we locate the missing mountaineers," assured Joshi.
Now, the NDRF Dehradun Commandant has been contacted for assistance. An NDRF team from Dehradun has also moved for Chamoli.