Shimla, June 21 (IANS) The body of a Japanese mountaineer, who died while coming down a mountain in Himachal Pradesh, has been recovered, an official said Monday.
‘The body of Japanese mountaineer Minoru Yanagi, 65, was retrieved with the help of Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers Sunday after a massive hunt,’ Randhir Salhuria, director of the Manali-based Atal Bihari Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, said in a statement.
He said the Japanese was registered with the institute for a special refresher climbing course.
Salhuria said Yanagi successfully scaled the 17,200-foot high Shitidhar peak June 19 but while descending a huge ice mass hit Yanagi and he fell on the other side of the mountain.
A rescue team of the institute launched a search for him and found the body on the steep face of the glacier but could not retrieve it.
Salhuria, who himself led the rescue team, said on the request of the institute, the IAF pressed two helicopters into the rescue operation Sunday. Finally, the IAF pilots managed to airlift the body.
Yanagi was a seasoned mountaineer and had been visiting the institute for the past four years.
Kullu Deputy Commissioner B.M. Nanta told IANS that the body has been kept at a mortuary in Manali.
