Himachal rain: 16 trekkers lose contact due to bad weather in Chamba

As many as 16 trekkers including 10 foreign nationals have lost contact because of the bad weather conditions in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, the Superintendent of Police of Chamba said on Saturday morning. A team of policemen, local porters and mountaineering experts are conducting a search operation and trying to establish contact with the trekkers, the SP said as quoted by news agency ANI.

The recent flash floods in Himachal Pradesh have made many regions of the state inaccessible. On Thursday, 110 people, including 58 children, have been rescued from high altitude areas of the state by the Indian Air Force (IAF), a defence spokesman said. Air Force Station, Udhampur, was tasked with a disaster relief mission near the Chamba and Killar valley in Himachal Pradesh, he said.

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Two aircraft were sent immediately, which had to make a careful landing on a small helipad in Chamba. After landing, the air crew learnt 52 school children and 45 medical personnel were stranded at Killar at an elevation of more than 9,500 feet, he said.

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Both the aircraft established an air bridge between Killar and Chamba to cross a pass more than 15,000 feet above sea level, the spokesman said. On Friday, 26 medical personnel were rescued from Killar and 24 children from Chamba, he said.

(With PTI Inputs)