Police said the girls, identified as Priyanka Goyal of Dadri in Noida and Kanika of Chiranjeev Vihar in Ghaziabad, were second-year students of Biotechnology at IMS Ghaziabad. They were part of an 84-member team that had gone to Khurpatal area of Nainital for a trip on Tuesday evening.

According to the police, on Wednesday morning the students had gone for a trek without donning adequate woollen gear. During the trek, they were caught in rain and hail, followed by snowing.

The girls later complained of headache and nausea. They were initially taken to a health centre at Kaladungi from where they were referred to the Base hospital at Haldwani. They died on the way to the hospital.

A member of the institute’s administration expressed sorrow at the incident and said both students were very bright.