DEHRADUN: Two women trekkers, one from USA and the other from UK, have been missing for over 36 hours at an altitude of 6,500m near Chaukhamba-III Peak in Chamoli district after reportedly losing crucial logistical and technical equipment on Thursday.
Chamoli district administration informed Indian Air Force (IAF) later at night about the missing mountaineers and requested helicopters for a rescue mission.On Friday, two IAF choppers were dispatched to search for the climbers, identified as Michelle Theresa Dvorak from USA and Fay Jane Manners from UK.
However, despite frantic efforts, the IAF search team was unable to locate the women, said Chamoli’s disaster management officer N K Joshi. “The two helicopters flew directly from Saharanpur (in UP) to the Army helipad in Joshimath and then proceeded to Chaukhamba-III for the search,” Joshi said, adding that the rescue operation is set to resume Saturday morning.
Dvorak and Manners had started their expedition from Delhi on Sept 15, along with Shweta Sharma, a liaison officer from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), who is currently stationed at the base camp, an IMF official told TOI. Reports indicate that one of their bags, containing essential supplies such as food and tent, fell into a deep gorge, leaving the climbers stranded. “Both are experienced mountaineers with extensive experience climbing peaks in Europe and North America,” said the IMF official.
Manners, a 37-year-old British alpinist from Bedford, is currently based in Chamonix, France. She had previously scaled peaks such as the Mont Blanc massif in France, Eiger in Switzerland, and Denali Peak in Alaska. Meanwhile, Dvorak, 31, from Issaquah, Washington, works as a teaching assistant at the University of Washington and simultaneously pursues an academic career.