Arunachal: Army helicopter conducts recce to trace missing mountaineers Tapri Mra and Niku Dao

Two weeks have passed since Arunachal Pradesh’s first Everester Tapi Mra and his assistant Niku Dao went missing from their base camp on August 17, while participating in a government-sponsored expedition to Mount Kyarisatam, also known as Mt. Chiumo, which is 6890 metres above sea level and is along the India-Tibet border.

Two Cheetah helicopters took off in the morning time after the weather was found to be clear for carrying out the search and rescue operation. One officer from the Indian Army along with one civilian (mountaineer) Taro Hai was part of the aerial recce team who went looking for the missing mountaineers.

The helicopters managed to reach upto Camp 2 at the base of Mt Chiumo. The recce was carried out for a duration of approximately 30-45 mins following which it returned to the Army Airbase due to the deteriorating weather.

During the recce, the aerial search team was able to identify,  Camp – 1 tent, Camp – 2 tent, foot tracks leading from Camp 1 to Camp 2, foot tracks leading from Camp -2 to some distance of about 15-20 metres in the north direction. But no sign of any human presence was found.

Apart from the aerial search team, a rescue team comprising of seven Indian Army personnel and one civilian (mountaineer) Taro Hai were successfully inducted at base camp using Cheetah Helicopters and two Advance Light Helicopters. 

Meanwhile, East Kameng District DC is stationed at the Army Airbase who is personally coordinating with the rescue efforts along with the Indian Army.