Body of West Bengal resident who died on a trek retrieved from Mahapanth glacier in Uttarakhand

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand), Nov 2 (PTI) The body of a West Bengal resident who died during a trek near Kedarnath in Uttarakhand last month was retrieved on Wednesday with the help of the Indian Air Force, an official said.

Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said the body of Alok Biswas, 33, was brought to the Chardham helipad in Guptkashi in an IAF helicopter and sent to the district hospital.

He said Biswas and Vikram Majumdar, 38, were reported to be trapped in the Mahapanth glacier, six km above Kedarnath Dham, on October 9 during a trek.

When State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel spotted them, Biswas was already dead. Majumdar was hospitalised after being brought to Kedarnath.

They were part of a 10-member group from West Bengal, who had embarked on the Kedarnath-Ransi trek nearly a week before.

Eight members of the group came back leaving the two of them behind as they were too ill to walk.

They informed the SDRF about their stranded teammates after which a rescue operation was launched. PTI COR DPT SMN SMN