Eight trekkers, seven of them reported to be students at an engineering college in Punjab, have gone missing after they left from Nagger for the 12,000-ft high Chandrakhani Pass in Kullu district even as rescue parties are trying to establish contact with them, a senior district official said.
Snowfall and extreme cold conditions are hampering the rescue operations and there was no contact with the missing youth, officials said.
Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Manali, Jyoti Rana said that upon receiving information about the students stranded in Chandrakhani Pass, rescue teams comprising 18 to 20 people were rushed from three directions but till evening no contact was established.
There was no network and the mobile phones of the missing students were switched off.
The trekkers had left from Nagger yesterday. One member of the trekking group informed the police but, later the police failed to establish any contact with them, the SDM said.
The rescue operations are on and teams are making all efforts to trace the location where the trekkers are reportedly trapped due to snowfall and inclement weather.
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