NEW DELHI: Two foreign women mountaineers, Michelle Theresa Dvorak from the USA and Fay Jane Manners from the United Kingdom, were safely rescued on Sunday morning. The mountaineers were stranded at 6,015 metres while attempting to reach Chaukhamba III peak in Uttarakhand‘s Chamoli district.
They were evacuated through a joint operation by the Indian Air Force (IAF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the State Disaster Management Authority.
The rescue efforts began on Friday, with two IAF helicopters searching for the stranded climbers. Climbing-trained SDRF personnel joined the operation on Saturday, which faced challenges due to fog and adverse weather conditions. The mountaineers became stranded after their bag containing food and essential climbing gear fell into a gorge during their ascent.
Michelle Theresa Dvorak from the US and Fay Jane Manners from the UK, both experienced climbers, sent a message via pager to their liaison officer, saying their bag with food and vital gear had fallen into a gorge. They were not been heard from since.
The duo had embarked on their expedition from Delhi on Sept 15, accompanied by Shweta Sharma, a liaison officer from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), which regulates climbing activities in India.
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