KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday expressed concern over five trekkers from Bankura who went missing during the Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand following severe weather and heavy snowfall.
In a post on X, Adhikari identified the missing trekkers as Rintu Mondal, Uday Ghosh, Ratan Ghosh, Tapas Bauri and Manoj Khawas, and said the state government was in constant touch with the Uttarakhand government and its State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
“Deeply concerned about the five young trekkers from Bankura: Rintu Mondal, Uday Ghosh, Ratan Ghosh, Tapas Bauri and Manoj Khawas, who have gone missing during the Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand following severe weather and heavy snowfall,” he wrote.
Deeply concerned about the five young trekkers from Bankura: Rintu Mondal, Uday Ghosh, Ratan Ghosh, Tapas Bauri and Manoj Khawas, who have gone missing during the Kedartal trek in Uttarakhand following severe weather and heavy snowfall.
The Government of West Bengal is in constant touch with the Uttarakhand Government and their State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Through our Resident Commissioner’s Office in New Delhi and State Disaster Management channels, we are actively seeking regular updates on the extensive search and rescue operations currently underway to locate and rescue our boys.To ensure uninterrupted round-the-clock coordination, the Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) and the Superintendent of Police, Bankura District, have been assigned the responsibility to closely liaise with the Uttarakhand SDRF, local district authorities and administrative heads on the ground.
Our administration has reached out to the distressed families in Bankura to extend all possible logistical and emotional support during this trying time. We stand firmly with the families, and no effort is being spared to ensure the safe and swift return of our Youths. We pray for their safety and well-being.
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) November 2, 2026
The Chief Minister said the West Bengal government was seeking regular updates on the search and rescue operations through its Resident Commissioner’s Office in New Delhi and state disaster management channels. “Our administration has reached out to the distressed families in Bankura to extend all possible logistical and emotional support during this trying time,” he said.
Adhikari said the state government stood with the families and was making every effort to ensure the safe return of the trekkers. “We stand firmly with the families, and no effort is being spared to ensure the safe and swift return of our Youths. We pray for their safety and well-being,” he added.
Meanwhile, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) launched intensive ground and aerial search operations on Sunday to locate seven trekkers and one guide who have gone missing in the Kedartal region of Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district.
#WATCH | Dehradun: Personnel from the SDRF Uttarakhand Police and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) are continuously conducting a search and rescue operation under rugged and extremely challenging conditions to locate the trekkers who went missing on the Kedartal trek.
Under the directions of SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi, an advance team of the SDRF is pushing the operation forward and conducting searches toward the incident site. During the operation, the tent and some other belongings of the missing trekkers were recovered near Kedar Kharak at an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters. Additionally, a bag was found during the search. However, no trace of the missing trekkers has been found so far.
According to information provided via satellite phone by the SDRF team in charge present at the site, the area is experiencing continuous snowfall, and adverse weather along with extreme altitude continues to pose challenges to the search operation. Given the circumstances, the team has established a safe camp on-site and will halt there for the night.
The search operation will be resumed by the team once the weather and conditions become favourable. The SDRF, in coordination with NIM personnel, is making every possible effort to locate the missing trekkers.
(Source: SDRF)
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2026
On the instructions of SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi, a special mountaineering team has been deployed to locate the missing individuals.
Earlier, the SDRF Gangotri team had reached the Kedartal region to conduct a reconnaissance; however, heavy snowfall and extreme weather conditions hampered efforts to advance the search operation on the ground. Consequently, authorities decided to carry out an aerial reconnaissance and search of the area via helicopter
As part of this effort, two SDRF personnel, Head Constable Ravi Chauhan and Constable Deepak Pant, reached Harsil by helicopter. Following this, two intensive aerial reconnaissance sorties were conducted over the Kedartal region. During the aerial survey, no clear visual signs of the missing trekkers or their tents were spotted. (ANI)
