A 22-member team on Friday left Lahaul for Kangla Jot glacier in the Himalayas to look for the bodies of four foreigners who went missing 22 years ago.
A trekking team from a Gurgaon-based company had spotted the bodies, at a height of 18,000 feet where the minimum temperature would be around -14 degree Celsius, and informed the district administration.
One of the bodies is that of a woman. Documents found next to her body suggested that she was a Swedish national but her identity is yet to be confirmed.
According to the Swedish embassy in Delhi, a woman by the name of Marcot Lydia had gone missing in 1981-82 while on a trek in Himachal Pradesh. She had been accompanied by some other foreigners whose identity is not known as yet.
On Thursday morning, a helicopter took off on a recce mission.
"It could not land on the spot. We can reach the exact spot only on foot. Hence, a team was assembled to bring back the bodies. It is expected to reach the spot on September 13. After that, it would take at least two days to fish out the bodies, provided it does not snow. The area receives very heavy snow fall throughout the year," Lahaul district Deputy Commissioner B R Verma told rediff.com on phone from Lahaul.
"The team is led by Thakur Jagat Singh, a retired army man and an expert mountaineer, and comprises 16 persons from the Manali-based Institute of Mountaineering and Sports. Never before have we mounted such a operation," he said. The team includes three Himachal Pradesh police personnel, one home guard and another person.
It will be supported by a medical team. Verma will supervise the operation from Lahaul.
