[ Amar Sangno ]
SEPPA, 10 Jul: The search operation for Everester Tapi Mra and his aide Niku Dao has resumed after nine months with the first advance team proceeding from Veo village towards Saria village on their way to Mt Khyarii Satam on Monday.
Mra and Dao went missing on 17 August, 2022 while attempting to scale Mt Khyarii Satam in East Kameng district.
The duo remains untraceable since then, despite several attempts made by the Indian Army and the mountaineers’ relatives to trace their whereabouts.
The advance team comprises 25 porters under the supervision of Everester Tame Bagang. The porters are transporting ration and other basic equipments up to the base camp of Khyarii Satam.
An 18-member search team, including four Everesters – Tagit Sorang, Tame Bagang, Gelje Sherpa and Furi Sherpa – along with two Everester Sherpas from Nepal and mountaineer Taru Hai will begin the search operation once the advance team returns to East Kameng HQ Seppa.
The East Kameng deputy commissioner is the incident commander, and the youth affairs department is supervising the operation.
The sports & youth affairs department is sponsoring the search operation, under the supervision of Youth Affairs Director Ramesh Linggi.
Sports & Youth Affairs Secretary Abu Tayeng informed that the department is funding the mountaineering equipments and the expenses that will be incurred during the mission.
“The procurement of equipments will cost more than Rs 70 lakhs,” he informed.
The equipments include oxygen cylinders, snow boots, ice axes and two satellite phones.
Tayeng further informed that some of the equipments have been provided by Dirang (West Kameng)-based National Institute of Mountaineering and Advance Sports.
“The department is hopeful of stationing a separate team with a high-altitude drone (HAD) to assist in the search operation, subject to weather conditions,” Tayeng said.
A Netra4 unmanned aerial vehicle, costing Rs 30 lakhs, is being provided by Pune (Maharashtra)-based Ideaforce company, he added.
It is learnt that an operation command centre will be set up near the site exclusively for the HAD. “A generator will be used and data will be analysed immediately, so that the team can conduct searches zone by zone,” Tayeng added.
The Indian Army had called off the search operation on 21 September, 2022, citing poor visibility and inclement weather.
The family members had later constituted a 13-member search and rescue team, headed by Sorang, which retrieved the possessions of Mra and Dao from a snow-covered area near Camp-II of Khyarii Satam.
