Head Constable Nurbu Wangdus was trapped in the avalanche near the Gangotri peak
A 38-year-old ITBP climber has been killed after an expedition team of the border guarding force was hit by a "massive" avalanche in Uttarakhand, a senior official said on Saturday.
Head Constable Nurbu Wangdus and another climber of the force were trapped in the avalanche near the Gangotri peak at 21,890 feet on Friday, the official said.
Nurbu Wangdus, an ace climber of the mountain-warfare trained force, was evacuated by his colleagues but he later died, he said.
The climber was part of a 25-member Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Mt Gangotri expedition that was launched on September 21 from Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun.
"The team was preparing the route of summit ahead of advance base camp on October 11 early morning at around 20,000 feet when the avalanche struck," ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said.
"Wangdus was among the best climbers of the force," he said.
The trooper was from Ladakh.
The ITBP is primarily deployed to guard the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.