LUCKNOW: Six of the eight people, including two sisters from Lucknow, who went missing after being caught in an avalanche and heavy snowfall during the Kedartal trek in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, have died so far.
As the search operation continued till Wednesday, two more bodies, those of the sisters Vartika Verma, 28, and Deepika Verma, 29, were recovered by rescue teams.
Both sisters were residents of Gayatripuram in Lucknow. Passionate about trekking in the mountains, they had completed several treks in India and Nepal, but the journey to Kedartal proved to be the toughest test of their lives.
According to distraught family members, their brother, Atul Verma, and other relatives had travelled to Uttarkashi in search of the two after hearing about the mishap. The family learnt about the accident not from the trekking agency but through social media.
Vartika was a freelance influencer, while Deepika worked as a graphic designer at a private company.
According to family sources, Vartika and Deepika set out from Gangotri for Kedartal with seven trekkers and five support staff members on October 27. The group was scheduled to return to the base camp on October 29 after the three-day trek.
However, the trekking expedition turned into a major rescue operation after heavy snowfall and multiple avalanches struck the route in Uttarkashi district on October 29.
On October 30, some members of the group informed the trekking agency that they were stranded near Kachchi Dhang and sought help.
A rescue operation was launched following the information. On October 31, four members of the support team were safely evacuated.
The Verma family also raised questions over the role of the trekking agency. They alleged that the trek was conducted despite the bad weather and that they were not informed in time even after the accident.
Vartika and Deepika had returned from a trip to the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib around two months earlier.
A year earlier, the sisters had also trekked to Kedarkantha in the Mori area of Uttarkashi with their brother Atul and friends.
Despite being familiar with mountain trails and having completed several treks before, the conditions at Kedartal proved extremely challenging.
