Kolkata: Prominent mountaineer Chhanda Gayen and two of her accompanying 'sherpas', who were attempting to climb the 8,505-metre-high Kangchenjunga West, known as Yalung Kang in Nepal, are reported to be missing. Gayen, best known for being the first civilian woman from West Bengal to climb to the summit of Mount Everest, went missing on Tuesday after being caught in an avalanche.
She annexed the 8,585-metre high Kanchenjunga Main, the third tallest peak on May 18 along with three other city climbers Tusi Das, Dipankar Ghosh and Rajib Bhattacharjee. According to reports available Tusi, Rajiv and Dipankar decided to return to Base camp after the summit while, Chhanda along with two sherpas Dawa Wangchu Mingma Temba went on to climb the nearby Yalung Kang, also known as Kanchenjuga West. While Dawa is from Darjeeling, Mingma hails from Nepal.
Talking to PTI Pasang Futar, a veteran Sherpa who lives in the same area where Dawa Sherpa stays, said "We received information from Kathmandu that Dawa and Pemba along with Chhanda are missing after being caught in an avalanche beyond the Camp three area while coming down from the summit of Kanchenjunga West on Tuesday". She had scaled the Mount Everest and Lohtse, the highest and fourth highest mountain in the world respectively, in 2013.
The West Bengal Government has announced all necessary help to the climbers in this incident. State Youth services minister Arup Biswas informed that Nepalese government have been contacted and necessary arrangements are being made for their search and rescue. The Nepalese government have already launched helicopter search for the missing climbers, sources said here.
Dawa said, "I don't know about the exact height, but it is beyond camp three which is common for both Kanchen Junga Main and Kanchenjunga West Peak. About chances of survival it is very difficult to say anything right now".
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed concern on the news of the missing mountaineer from the state. She talked to the Nepal Government as well as the External Affairs Ministry seeking help to conduct extensive search operation for the missing mountaineer and her two associate sherpas.
A team of two representatives from the state, Ujjal Roy, advisor to Mountaineers Federation and Debdas Nandi, a senior mountaineer, have already rushed to Kathmandu, state's Youth Affairs Minister Aroop Biswas said, adding he might even join them if required.
The state government was keeping in touch with the family members of mountaineer Chhanda Gayen and some ministers have already visited her residence at Howrah.
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