The death toll in an avalanche in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand has risen to four, while four people remain missing, officials said on Thursday.
Four bodies have so far been recovered near Kedar Kharak, at an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), Uttarkashi District Disaster Management Officer Shardul Gusain said.
"Four people have died so far, and four remain missing," Gusain said, adding that the missing trekkers were buried under the snow.
Two of the four deceased were women, he said.
The group was part of a trekking expedition that set out on Oct. 27 and was scheduled to return on Oct. 29. However, they failed to return as scheduled, prompting authorities to launch a search operation.
A joint team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) is conducting search and rescue operations along the Kedartal trekking route.
Rescuers have been battling heavy snowfall, poor visibility and challenging high-altitude terrain, hampering efforts to locate the missing trekkers.
