Seven days on, Israeli tourist rescued from Triund trek

Seven days after he went missing, the 30-year-old Israeli tourist Samuel Vengrinovich, who had gone for trekking on the heights of Triund near Dharamsala in Kangra district, was recovered from a snowline area of the mountain ranges on Sunday.

A special rescue team was also sent on a helicopter from the Kangra airport on Sunday afternoon to look for him but it could not find him.

Director of the Kangra airport Dhirendra Singh posted on X “Kangra Airport played a pivotal role in a rescue operation for the missing Israeli trekker near snowline above Triund. The airport served as a critical base for facilitating the rescue team’s arrival and departure, refuelling and ensuring helicopter’s operational readiness”.

He had reportedly slipped down from a slope in the adverse weather conditions, said SP of Kangra Shalini Agnihotri. She said that a joint team of the police, SDRF and the DDMA brought down the Israeli citizen. After the rescue, he was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital at Tanda for medical examination.

Shalini Agnihotri said that he had suffered some injuries. Samuel was also a little weak and appeared to be suffering from physical exhaustion due to hunger and dehydration. A team of doctors was constantly monitoring him.

Samuel Vengrinovich had set out on a trek towards Indrahar Pass with friends on June 6. On the same day at approximately 12:37 pm near a glacier adjoining the Indrahar Pass trail, he lost track and disappeared in forests. The bad weather conditions caused him to lose his way.

Samuel’s girlfriend Ediblam, who was part of the same group staying in Dharamkot area, gave the missing report of her friend to the McLeodganj police. She stated that they had come to Himachal Pradesh in a group of five persons two weeks back. They all were staying in Dharamkot village.

As soon as the information reached, the district administration, the local police immediately swung into action and launched a rescue operation. A joint team of police, SDRF and DDMA was deployed in Triund, Indrahar Pass, Jot and surrounding inaccessible areas. The Adventure Tour Operators Association (ATOA) also joined the search and rescue operation.

Agnihotri congratulated the teams on the safe rescue of Samuel Vengrinovich. The SP also informed the Israel Embassy in New Delhi through the state government.

Himachal Tribune