Dehradun | The bodies of two more trekkers who went missing along the Kedartal trek route in Uttarkashi seven days ago were recovered by search and rescue teams on Thursday, taking the death toll to six people with two still missing.

The trekkers were part of a group of eight who went missing following an avalanche.

An action taken report released by the District Emergency Operations Centre, Uttarkashi, stated that the bodies of two men buried under the avalanche were recovered from different locations on Thursday.

The bodies have been brought to the base camp, where the rescue team comprising State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) officials is stationed.

Officials said the bodies would be airlifted to the Matli helipad on Friday. With this, bodies of six of the eight missing trekkers have been recovered so far.

The search and rescue operation began at 9 am on Thursday and concluded around 3.30 pm.

The district administration also informed that the bodies recovered on Wednesday were identified by family members as Rintu Mandal (40), son of Sunil Chandra Mandal, and Uday Ghosh (30), son of Dinesh Ghosh. Both were residents of the Salbani area in West Bengal's Bankura district.

Officials added that another search operation would be conducted by a joint SDRF-NIM team on Friday.

A 10-member team of the SDRF and NIM has been conducting search operations at Kedarkhadak to trace the missing trekkers amid difficult terrain and challenging weather conditions.

Officials said 10 to 12 feet of snow had accumulated in the area following the avalanche, hampering rescue operations.

On October 27, a group of 13 people, comprising seven trekkers and six support staff, set out from Gangotri for the Kedartal trek.

They were scheduled to return on October 29, but adverse weather conditions, including snowfall and glacier-related obstacles, blocked the route, preventing their timely return.

Subsequently, on October 30, the trekking agency dispatched a team of porters and guides, who managed to clear a path for approximately six km.

The District Emergency Operations Centre had informed on Saturday that four people had been found safe, while eight were stranded beyond Bhojkhadak following an avalanche.