GUWAHATI: A multi-agency search and rescue operation is underway at the avalanche hit location at on mount Draupadi Ka Danda II in Uttarakhand.

Search and rescue personnel, on Thursday, recovered 12 bodies of deceased mountaineers.

With recovery of 12 more bodies of mountaineers, the death toll due to the avalanche on mount Draupadi Ka Danda II in Uttarakhand has risen to 16.

Among the 16 bodies recovered thus far, 14 are of trainee mountaineers and 2 are of instructors.

While, 12 bodies of trainee mountaineers were recovered on Thursday, four bodies (2 trainees, 2 instructors) were recovered on October 4.

Following the avalanche, as many as 29 mountaineers (2 instructors & 27 trainee) were reported to have been trapped on mount Draupadi Ka Danda II in Uttarakhand.

Following the recoveries of bodies thus far, the search and rescue personnel are to locate 13 more missing trainee mountaineers.

The identities of recovered bodies of mountaineers are yet to be revealed.

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Among the mountaineers that went missing following the avalanche on mount Draupadi Ka Danda II in Uttarakhand include two mountaineers from Northeast.

Deepshikha Hazarika, from Guwahati in Assam, is among those who went missing after the mountaineers’ team she was a part of was hit by an avalanche in Uttarakhand.

Deepshikha Hazarika is a resident of Rajgarh in Guwahati, Assam.

Deepshikha Hazarika, who is also in the list of missing personnel, is the daughter of Golap Hazarika.

On the other hand, 35-year-old Tiklu Jyrwa from Meghalaya also went missing following the avalanche in Uttarakhand.

Tiklu Jyrwa is a member of Meghalaya Sport Climbing and Mountaineering Association (MeSCMA).

Jyrwa is a resident of Upper Lumparing.

The 41-member team of trainee mountaineers were hit by the avalanche when they were returning along with their instructors after climbing the peak.

The avalanche occurred at 8.45 am on Tuesday.