Official announcements from the Indian government or defense ministry

IAF Rescues US and UK Women Climbers After 80-Hour Ordeal on Uttarakhand's Mount Chaukhamba

Oct 6, 2024, 07:37 AM

Two foreign women mountaineers, American climber Michelle Theresa Dvorak and British climber Fay Jane Manners, were successfully rescued on Sunday morning after being stranded for three days at an altitude of 6,015 meters on Mount Chaukhamba III in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. The climbers lost all their major equipment during their ascent and became trapped due to adverse weather conditions. The rescue operation, which lasted over 80 hours, was a coordinated effort involving the Indian Air Force (IAF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army, local administration, the National Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF), Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and French mountaineers. Despite battling bad weather and difficult terrain, the teams successfully evacuated the climbers, highlighting effective collaboration among national and state agencies. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the armed forces for their remarkable rescue and evacuation operation during the expedition to Chaukhamba III peak, emphasizing the jointness in planning and coordination with national and state administration units.