The survivors, along with Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, at Dehradun Airport before departing for Bengaluru. Karnataka Revenue Department
Bengaluru: The survivors of the Uttarakhand trek tragedy returned to Bengaluru on Thursday evening after the search and rescue operations ended earlier in the day.
Earlier in the day, rescue workers finished the search operations and retrieved four remaining bodies.
In all, nine trekkers from Karnataka lost their lives while 13 were rescued.
Twenty-two trekkers from Bengaluru were stranded in the Garhwal mountain range during their trek across the Sahastra Tal-Mayali stretch following a rare blizzard.
On Wednesday, rescue teams were able to airlift 13 survivors and retrieve the bodies of five deceased trekkers. However, the search operations had to be halted due to extreme weather conditions before four more bodies could be retrieved.
Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday met the Uttarakhand chief secretary to arrange for an aircraft to transport the bodies to Bengaluru.
“I met Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Radha Raturi and the Secretary of Disaster Management, Ranjit Sinha, to thank them for their swift response during this calamity. I requested for their help to arrange an aircraft to transport the bodies to Bengaluru. They have agreed to help,” he said.
Though the Karnataka government tried to bring back the bodies to the city on Thursday, logistical problems delayed the process. The bodies are now expected to reach the city only by Friday evening.
While the initial plan was to arrange for a special aircraft to airlift the bodies directly from Dehradun, the plan had to be changed due to the unavailability of an aircraft.
“We have shifted all the nine bodies from the Dehradun airport to the local hospital for embalming. After embalming, bodies will be transported in ambulances to Delhi airport. We are looking for space in Delhi-Bengaluru flights for Friday,” he said.
Gowda also hailed the rescue operations as one of the rarest air rescue operations to be executed in history since the Air Force hopper was hovering around 15,600 feet above the mean sea level.
Gowda, who accompanied the survivors on the flight, said they were physically stable but were still recovering from the shock.
"Mentally, they are upset and in a state of shock. They have seen their close friends die before their very eyes and many were unsure if they would survive. This has left them in a state of shock," he told reporters at the airport.