The bodies of four persons including a woman who had gone for Manimahesh trek in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh have been recovered, state disaster management authority (SDMA) Sudesh Mokhta said on Wednesday.

Mokhta said the two groups of four persons and seven persons had gone for pilgrimage at Manimahesh in Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district but had gone missing.

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The bodies of two victims were traced on Monday and the remaining bodies were recovered late in the evening on Tuesday.

“The bodies of one group of four persons were found dead near Kamal Kund, en route Manimahesh Lake and their bodies had been recovered by search and rescue operation teams.

The deceased have been identified as Aman Kumar of Sultanpur area of Chamba district, Himangi, a native of Gujarat, Vinod and Rahul, residents of Ludhiana and Jalandhar in Punjab respectively,” he added.

He stated that another group from Punjab which had gone for Manimahesh pilgrimage but had gone missing, were traced near Hanuman Shila glacier.

The group had been safely evacuated to Bharmour.

It is worth mentioning here that these groups had gone for Manimahesh illegally as the district administration had banned pilgrimage this year owing to Covid and adverse climate conditions.

Only Bhadrawah and four other groups are allowed to go on Manimahesh pilgrimage, an annual feature but others were flouting norms on the pretext of these groups and were falling prey to mishaps as high altitude causes asphyxiation.

However, some people were venturing on dangerous treks using alternate routes, making it tough for the administration to stop such trekkers.

Manimahesh Lake, located around 26 km from Bharmour in Budhil Valley at an altitude of 13,000 ft at the foot of Kailash peak, is one of the major pilgrimages of the state.

An annual pilgrimage dedicated to Lord Shimla is held on the site and a fair organised at Manimahesh lake attracts thousands of pilgrims every year to take a dip in holy water.