Authorities in Himachal Pradesh on Monday allowed renowned mountaineer Baljeet Kaur and her four-member team to resume the search for blogger Akshay Sahani, a Panchkula resident, who went missing while trekking on Churdhar peak on February 26.
The Sirmaur district administration suspended the search and rescue operation by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) in Manali on Thursday due to adverse weather conditions.
“Kaur’s team found a human body near the location where the missing Panchkula man was last seen, although it has not been identified. Efforts are underway to retrieve the body,” said a source.
The body is expected to be identified by Tuesday afternoon, the source added.
Baljeet Kaur, leading a four-member team and local residents, set out for Churdhar from the Sangrah subdivision on Sunday, renewing hopes of locating the missing trekker.
Akshay Sahani, a resident of Sector 15, had embarked on the trek with his friend Vikram Singh to visit the temple of local deity Sri Sirgul Maharaj on Mahashivratri. While Singh reached the temple safely, Sahani lost his way amidst heavy snowfall and dense fog.
According to Sunil Kaith, Sangrah Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), the location where the body was found is the same place where Akshay Sahani was last seen by his friend Vikram Singh.
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“As per initial reports, the rescue team spotted crows and vultures hovering over a body, which is now being retrieved. Mountaineer Baljeet Kaur was scheduled to do the Churdhar trek, and we engaged her team in the search and rescue operation,” Kaith said.
The suspension of the rescue mission had left Sahani’s family, particularly his widowed mother, in despair.
Baljeet Kaur, a 29-year-old seasoned mountaineer from Mamligh village in Solan district, scaled Mt Everest in May 2022.
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