Heartbreaking video captures last moments of 8 Nanda Devi climbers swept away in avalanche
The 8-member mountaineering team was swept away in an avalanche while on their way to the Nanda Devi East Peak. The video, released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, was shot by one of the climbers.
A heart-breaking video showing the final moments of eight mountaineers who were killed on their way to the Nanda Devi peak in Uttarakhand has been released by authorities.
The eight-member international mountaineering team was swept away in an avalanche while on their way to the Nanda Devi East Peak in May. The video, released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, was shot by one of the climbers.
In the nearly two-minute-long video, the eight climbers are moving in a line, linked to each other with the help of a rope.
It's twilight, and the climbers are seen walking along a slippery, narrow snow-clad stretch, roped together as they carefully tread the mountain.
The climber who shot the video, who is last in the queue, moves the camera around not just to capture the team's journey to one of the most difficult mountains peaks in the Indian Himalayan ranges, but also the scenic view of sunrays kissing the white blanket of snow.
Just as you take in the beauty of the mountains, the video ends. With a distressing thud.
ITBP officials say the sound could be of an avalanche or snow storm that claimed the lives of eight climbers. The camera was found buried in snow near where seven bodies were recovered.
"The video was sourced from a photo card that our boys recovered from near the bodies that lay in a bowl-like region of the mountain. This is the only evidence and last moments record of the journey of the eight climbers," ITBP Deputy Inspector General (DIG) A P S Nimbadia said.
"It ends with a slight thud like sound and we suspect that this would have the avalanche or snowstorm that led to the death of the climbers," he said.
A DAREDEVIL OPERATION IN THE HIMALAYAS
The mountaineers went missing on May 25 and seven bodies were brought down by the ITBP from about 19,000 feet to a lower base only on July 3, following which helicopters moved them to Pithoragarh.
A daunting operation by the men of the mountain-warfare trained force, code-named 'daredevils', clocked about 500 hours spanning 15 days before success was achieved.
The video was released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at an event at their headquarters here, where the 15 members of the team that recovered the bodies were honoured by ITBP DG S S Deswal with mementos and a cash reward of Rs 20,000 each.
The mountaineers had left Munsyari on May 13 to scale the peak located in Pithoragarh district.
The team included seven members from the UK, Australia and the US, besides a liaison officer from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.