The bodies of two more trekkers, who went missing after an avalanche struck the Kedartal trekking route in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, were recovered on Thursday — taking the death toll to six. Two others, meanwhile, remain missing.According to an Action Taken Report issued by the Uttarkashi District Emergency Operations Centre, the bodies of two men were recovered from separate locations during a search operation conducted by a joint team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM).The bodies have been brought to the base camp, where the rescue teams are stationed, and will be airlifted to the Matli helipad on Friday.Thursday’s search operation began at around 9 am and concluded at 3.30 pm. A fresh search operation will be conducted on Friday to trace the two remaining missing trekkers.Also Read | 20,000-rupee jobs, and a love for mountains: A tale of 5 missing friendsMeanwhile, the two bodies recovered were identified as that of Rintu Mandal (40), son of Sunil Chandra Mandal, and Uday Ghosh (30), son of Dinesh Ghosh. Both were residents of Salbani in West Bengal’s Bankura district.The rescue operation is being conducted by the 10-member team in the Kedarkhadak area, amid difficult terrain and challenging weather conditions.The incident occurred after a 12-member expedition comprising seven trekkers, one guide, one cook and three porters set out from Gangotri for the Kedartal trek on October 27. The group had obtained permission from the Forest Department a day earlier for a three-day trek and was expected to return by October 29.Story continues below this adDay 4 Update | Tent, bags spotted but no trace of 8 missing trekkers in UttarakhandHowever, hours after the group entered the trekking route, authorities received a weather alert warning of adverse conditions expected on October 29. Mayank Garg, Deputy Director of Gangotri National Park, had earlier told The Indian Express that the department received the alert around 10.30-11 am on October 27, by which time the group had already left. Officials could not convey the warning as they were unable to establish contact with the expedition.On October 30, a day after the group was expected to return, authorities received information that its members had been trapped by heavy snowfall and avalanches in the Kedartal region. Information available with the Forest Department indicated that avalanches had occurred at around 10 to 12 locations along the route.Four members of the expedition — three porters and a cook — were rescued near Kachchi Dhang on October 31 after rescue personnel cleared snow and created a passage through the affected stretch. They were brought safely to Gangotri.Initial aerial reconnaissance and ground searches failed to locate the remaining missing members. During subsequent operations, rescue teams spotted tents, bags and other belongings near the Kedarkharak area. Personnel have since been manually digging through the accumulated snow to search for the missing trekkers.