Six Indian trekkers who were rescued by helicopter from Nepal's remote Upper Dolpa region on Monday have been fined for trekking into the restricted area without permits or a guide and ignoring weather warnings, officials said, in a report published by Everest Chronicle on Wednesday and also reported by Third Rock Adventures.

Source: Everest Chronicle

The six were rescued on Monday from the Numala-Bungla pass, at an altitude of around 4,500 metres, in Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality-8, after becoming stranded in heavy snowfall. They had lost contact on October 31 after snow blocked their route. A porter travelling with the group managed to descend to a nearby village and alert local authorities, officials said.

Dolpa Chief District Officer Junu Hamal Dhakal said the government spent around one million rupees (about $6,600) on the helicopter rescue, which involved two shuttle flights from the pass to the district headquarters of Dunai, following an initial flight from Pokhara. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority coordinated the evacuation. Dhakal said the trekkers had found a safe place and were in good health.

Fine reduced from Rs 50,000, officials say

Under Nepal's regulations, foreigners entering Upper Dolpa without the required permit face a fine of 50,000 rupees, but authorities reduced the penalty, citing the trekkers' limited knowledge of the remote terrain and local regulations, Everest Chronicle reported. Each trekker was fined at least 20,000 rupees and charged a permit fee of $40 for staying nearly two weeks in Upper Dolpa without notifying local authorities, bringing the total paid by the group to 160,000 rupees, Dhakal said. Foreign visitors are charged $20 for a seven-day permit, with an additional $5 for each subsequent day.

Officials said the group had deliberately taken alternative routes to avoid checkpoints operated by national park authorities and the local administration to enter the restricted area, had travelled without a guide and did not have travel insurance, which officials said made the rescue operation more complicated. Third Rock Adventures also reported that authorities collected the required permit fees and imposed fines for travelling without permission after the rescue.

The district administration had instructed security agencies weeks earlier to prevent trekkers from entering high-altitude areas ahead of Cyclone Arnab, which brought heavy rainfall to Nepal from October 28 to 30, and had issued warnings about possible snowfall and hazardous conditions in Upper Dolpa. The administration has urged trekkers to obtain the necessary permits, follow official weather warnings and make appropriate arrangements before travelling to high-altitude areas.

The trekkers were identified as Momita Haldar, Piyali Kole, Jajala Trived Kumar, Aditya Singh, Dipalina Biswas and Rajesh D. Upper Dolpa is among Nepal's most remote trekking destinations, where difficult terrain, limited communications and rapidly changing weather can make rescue operations challenging.