[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 12 Oct: A team of mountaineers, family members and local porters which left Seppa in East Kameng district for Mt Khyarii Satam to resume the search & rescue (S&R) operation for missing Everester Tapi Mra and his assistant Niku Dao on 7 Oct was stranded at Yarchum, the confluence of the Kameng and the Wapriyang Bung rivers for 3 days. The team had to construct a local bridge over the confluence point to cross the river in order to proceed further.
Dosh Dasi of Tagin Cultural Society who is coordinating with family members and the rescue team while talking to this daily shared that the team reached Yalik Camp on Wednesday evening.
“I had a conversation with the team over satellite phone. They are updating us. The S&R team will leave Yalik Camp and proceed towards Yana camp on Thursday morning,” said Dasi.
To reach camp 2 of Mount Khyarii Satam, the foot-based search team will have to cross the Yana Camp, Yangle Camp, Base Camp and Camp1 in the next 3 days.
“Until the search team reaches Camp 2 and carries out a search in the area around, nothing can be made out. We all have to wait for the team to reach camp 2 to hear some concrete information,” added Dosi.
The team, comprising mountaineers Taru Hai, Tana Lui, and Tagit Sorang, medic Dr. Tedi Mra and local porters, started the journey from Seppa on 7 October and reached Yarchum, which is the confluence of the Kameng and the Wapriyang Bung rivers on 10 October.
Mra and Dao have been missing since 17 August, after they had set out to climb Mt Khyarii Satam.
The district administration had called off a foot-based S&R operation on 6 September. Due to incessant rain, the porters, army personnel and officers could not cross the Wapriyang Bung river, due to which the operation was called off. On 21 September, an S&R operation being conducted with the support of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force was also called off by the district administration, citing bad weather.
The family members of Mra had claimed that the state government did not extend any help to resume the search operation. They had also alleged that East Kameng DC Pravimal Abhishek Polumatla kept on creating hurdles that delayed their foot-based search and rescue efforts.
