A 25-year-old trekker was today found dead after he strayed into Jammu and Kashmir and got trapped in high mountains during a trekking expedition, officials said.
An IAF team deployed to rescue Arun Sharma found his "badly frozen" body on a steep hill slope near the base of Umasi Pass, located at an altitude of 17,400 feet above sea level, they said.
The trekker, identified as Arun Sharma from Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, probably died due to intense cold and snow and now a team of trekkers has been dispatched to physically lift the body, an Army official involved in the rescue operation said.
Sharma along with another trekker Rijul Gill, 30, had left for Umasi Pass on August 9 from Killar in Chamba district.
Gill managed to reach Zanskar after crossing the Umasi Pass in Kargil after trudging the rough and inhospitable terrain for more than one and a half days of trekking leaving behind Sharma, who was unable to cross the pass on his own, assuring him of getting help, the official said.
Yesterday, on receiving a message on WhatsApp about a trekker stranded in Kargil area, Kullu deputy commissioner Rakesh Kanwar prompted rescue efforts.
"It is really sad to learn that Arun could not be rescued alive," Kanwar said.
