At least eight people – seven trekkers and a guide – remain missing after an avalanche struck Uttarakhand’s Kedartal area on Oct. 29, officials said on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The group, which left on Oct. 27 for a three‑day trek, had last contacted their trekking agency that same day and was missing when snowfall surged later.
According to Xinhua, a 10‑member Mountain Rescue Team, comprising six personnel from the State Disaster Response Force and four from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, was air‑lifted to the valley on Monday to search for the group. The search was called off by evening due to worsening weather. Xinhua added that the operations were expected to resume on Tuesday.
In earlier rescue efforts, Xinhua noted that three porters and a cook had been rescued three days prior to the avalanche.
The Times of India identified the missing trekkers as Tapas Bauri, Ratan Ghosh, Manoj Khovas, Rintu Mandal, Uday Ghosh (all from West Bengal), as well as Deepika Verma and Vartika, named by the newspaper’s reports. These details add specificity to the list of missing persons.
While Xinhua reports the operation’s delay as unverified weather conditions, it confirms the scheduled resumption on Tuesday. The missing trekkers’ fate remains uncertain as the valley is still shrouded in heavy snowfall.
