HP: 4 WB climbers on Kullu mountain missing

Shimla, Sep 9: Four climbers from West Bengal scaling Mt Ali Ratni Tibba in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district have gone missing, a state disaster management official said on Friday.

They were identified as Abhijit Banik (43), Chinmoy Mondal (43), Dibash Das (37) and Binoy Das (31), State Disaster Management department Director Sudesh Mokhta said. The climbers went missing on Wednesday, he said.

Two more members of their group and a cook returned to Wachem near Malana and informed officials about the incident, Mokhta said. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABIMAS) is gathering a team to launch a rescue operation from Manali, he added.

The sub-divisional magistrate of Manali has also coordinated a local rescue team at Jari to accompany the ABIMAS team. Satellite phones are being provided to the rescue team for effective and prompt response, he added.