KULLU: Three pilgrims, two of them from Delhi, died during the Shrikhand yatra in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district apparently due to lack of oxygen on Saturday, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Upender Saini, 40, of Khalini locality of Shimla town, Kewalnand Bhagat, 59, and Atma Ram, 66, both residents of Delhi.
The trio had embarked on the pilgrimage on July 25 and collapsed while returning after paying obeisance at 5,227m Shirkhand Mahadev peak.
Upender died near Kunsha , Kewalnand died near Nainsarovar while Atma Ram died near Bhimbh, said Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh.
It appears that the pilgrims died due to hypothermia and lack of oxygen at high altitude, police said. However, the exact cause will be known after the postmortem, the SP said, adding that teams have been sent to retrieve the bodies, which will be brought to Nirmand by Monday.