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Missing heli-skiers rescued in Jammu and Kashmir

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

The mystery over the 11 missing heli-skiers including renowned French heli-skier Sylvan Sudan and a Jammu and Kashmir government pilot, has ended with three rescue helicopter teams spotting them at Yamhir.

"God was helpful as the visibility which otherwise is poor in the area was good. It is a very difficult area and anything can happen in those mountains," said a police officer pointing towards the rescue helicopters which had taken several rounds before landing in the snow-clad meadows.

The heli-skiers were spotted as the rescue helicopters flew over Gund.

The skiers were shivering with cold and any delay in rescue could have triggered problems of frostbite and other ailments.

As soon as the rescue teams started to land, the foreigners were overjoyed and so were the state officials as messages were flashed over the radio that 'all the heli-skiers and the pilot are safe'.

The helicopters picked up the tired and hungry heli-skiers and the pilot and brought them back to Srinagar. They were taken straight to their hotel and provided with medical help.

Srinagar had been rife with rumours with some saying the heli-skiers had perished in a crash while others feared abduction which, however, was ruled out by a senior police officer. "The area is sanitised and safe," the official said.

Local villagers said that four heli-skiers including a German couple managed to reach village Kulan on Saturday evening after trekking several miles. "They refused to stay in our homes fearing abduction by militants," said one villager, Bashir Ahmad Shiekh. "Instead they preferred to spend the night in a passenger bus parked on the roadside."

The villagers, Shiekh said, gave them blankets and tea and firepots to keep them warm as they were trembling with fear and cold.

Another heli-skier spent the night with his contractor friend Mohammad Hussain.

The foreigners told the villagers that their helicopter had developed a snag and could not take off and since it was getting dark they had cancelled their return journey.

The police were informed on Sunday morning by the locals about the foreigners and officials later rushed to the picturesque Kulan on the Srinagar-Leh highway.

Repeated efforts to contact Sylvan Sudan failed. "They are all tired,'' said the hotel receptionist. ''Please call later." But an overjoyed tourism official said, "Don't worry about the details. The big thing is they are all safe."

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