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Groups of trekkers from Bengal were rescued from near the Mayali Pass in Uttarakhand on Friday after being caught in a blizzard. The total number of persons rescued is still not clear as several groups from the state seem to have met up in the Pass.

Army officers who carried out rescue operations also could not give exact details as they were busy airlifting a large number of people, including locals.

One of those rescued is 54-year-old Gautam Biswas from Howrah's Dasnagar. A sales tax officer, he is now posted in Asansol and lives in Durgapur. He was apparently leading a group of four that left Howrah on May 28. The others with him were Subrata Ghosh, Sujit Manna and Mrinal Kanti Ghosh of Bally. The group started the tough trek on May 30 and was returning to Ghuttu on June 9 when the blizzard struck.

"It seems they could not time their trek well or they would have reached some shelter. A porter managed to return to camp and report the trouble. From his account, it seemed that 12 people, including porters and guides, were stuck at a 10.5-degree incline," said Krishan Dumri, DSP, Rudraprayag.

Three choppers of the Army Aviation Corps started rescue operations on Thursday but could not trace anybody, primarily due to poor visibility. Air operations started again around 5.30 am on Friday. The first to be located were Biswas, Ghosh and their porter, Ramchandra. Rescuers found footprints of the remaining members of the group on a second route from Vasuki Tal and assumed that they had managed to reach a safe location.

"Biswas told us that the other group was carrying the bulk of the rations. A team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel has been sent after them," an official said.

This group was to return to Bengal on June 12. Family members are relieved but could not give much details. "He would go on treks often. I do not know the other team members. Recently, I asked him to stop this adventure as he is growing old," said Ghosh's wife Sangeeta. Ghosh is an employee of Calcutta Club.

The dozen people the DSP mentioned may have included Arup Nath and Rajesh Rakshit from Chandmari in Sonarpur. The two had left for Uttarakhand on June 5. Nath's brother Anup said they last spoke over the phone on June 8.
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Friday that the state government was in touch with the authorities in Uttarakhand and all trekkers from Bengal were safe.

Mayali Pass (5,400 m) is in the Garhwal Himalayas. It lies on the border of the Tehri Garhwal and Rudraprayag districts.