Days of anxious waiting for good news about Meghalaya climber Tiklu Jyrwa ended today after his body was identified by his brother-in-law.
The 35-year-old Jyrwa was one of the dozens of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) climbers who were caught in an avalanche on their way back from climbing Draupadi ka Danda 2 in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, on Tuesday.
Fourteen climbers were rescued by the following day but no further good news for friends, family and colleagues has come since. The death toll as of yesterday was 26. Only three members of the team remain unaccounted for.
The names of only a few of the deceased have been released. This is because formal identification of the bodies is not being done at base camp but only after they reach hospital. However, the bad weather is disrupting even the transport of the dead.
Jyrwa’s brother-in-law and fellow climber, Wallambok Lyngdoh, left Shillong early this morning and was able to identify the body at around 10:30am.
Jyrwa, a resident of Upper Lumparing, was one of three mountaineers from Meghalaya who had been selected earlier this year to attend a basic mountaineering course at the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh.
He was a member of the Meghalaya Sport Climbing and Mountaineering Association and was sponsored by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs for the advanced mountaineering course at the NIM.
