Friday, October 23, 2009

Injured West Sikkim Sherpas stable at Paramount Nursing Home

Gangtok, Oct. 22: The bodies of two mountaineers killed in an avalanche on Mount Thingchinkhang could not be brought down because of bad weather, but two injured Sherpas have been airlifted from Tshoka, located below the base camp, to Bagdogra.

The second of the two victims has been identified as Sekar Sadasivan. The death of team leader, Mangesh Deshpande, had been confirmed yesterday. According to members of the rescue team, Deshpande’s body had been sighted while Sekar’s was yet to be located.

The avalanche had occurred on Sunday after the team of four mountaineers had descended 500 metres from the summit at 19,712 feet. They had been accompanied by five Sherpas and the liaison officer of the Sikkim home department.

Speaking over the phone from Yuksom, 138km from here, in West Sikkim where Mount Thingchinkhang is located, rescue team members said Shantanu Pandit and Parag Pendharkar have been reunited with the fifth mountaineer Anju Paniculam at Tshoka. Anju did not make the ascent as she had fallen ill at the base camp at 14,000 feet.

Deshpande, like Pendharkar, was from Pune. Sekar and Anu are from Mumbai while Pandit lives in Vashi in Navi Mumbai. The Mumbai trio are members of city-based Chakram Trekkers.

“All of them were brought down to Tshoka (about 10,000 ft above sea level on the way to summit) and they are doing well but are still in a state of shock. They will be airlifted either to Gangtok or to Siliguri once the weather improves,” a rescue team member said.

Sources in the West Sikkim district administration said Sherpas Mingma Sherpa and Ang Dorjee Sherpa had been airlifted to Bagdogra this morning to be taken to Paramount ,a Siliguri nursing home. Their condition was stable.Two porters also admitted for treatment.

News of the avalanche and one of the deaths first reached Gangtok on Tuesday after a porter came down to Yuksom. The second death was reported yesterday when another porter descended the peak.

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