Miraculous Rescue: 2 Women Climbers From US, UK Rescued From Uttarakhand Peak After 3-Day Ordeal

On Sunday morning, search teams escalated their efforts, eventually locating the climbers at 6,200 metres, from where they had earlier signalled for help.

Chamoli News: Two foreign climbers, stranded on the treacherous slopes of Chaukhamba Mountain in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, were successfully rescued after a three-day search and rescue operation. The climbers, identified as Fay Jane Manners (27) from the United Kingdom and Michelle Theresa Dvorak (23) from the United States, had been trapped at an altitude of 6,200 metres while attempting to scale the 6,995-metre-high peak.

The climbers, who began their ascent from Badrinath, contacted their respective embassies on October 3 via satellite pager, reporting that they had become stranded near the summit of Chaukhamba. Crucially, their equipment had fallen into a ravine, leaving them without essential supplies.

According to reports, British alpinist Manners is a seasoned trekker who has scaled Pakistan’s Trango II and a 765-metre Father Tower rock climbing route in Greenland among at least eight "first ascents". Dvorak is a climate science PhD student in Washington.

A Miraculous Rescue By IAF And Uttarakhand SDRF

In response, the Indian Air Force launched a search operation on Friday, deploying two helicopters. However, initial efforts proved unsuccessful, and the climbers remained missing. The search intensified on Saturday with a joint operation involving the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Indian Air Force. Despite discovering a tent and sleeping bag at the base camp, the climbers could not be located.

On Sunday morning, search teams escalated their efforts, eventually locating the climbers at 6,200 metres, from where they had earlier signalled for help. The SDRF team, which had reached an advanced base camp at 4,500 metres, maintained contact via satellite and successfully coordinated the rescue.

According to officials from the SDRF, both climbers were found in good physical condition, though they had been experiencing difficulties due to the extreme cold and high altitude. They were immediately brought to safety, where they received medical attention.

The successful operation, led by the SDRF in collaboration with the Indian Air Force, was praised for its precision and effectiveness. The climbers expressed gratitude to the teams for their timely intervention ensuring a safe rescue.