Scores of emergency workers were battling bad weather Saturday to locate eight climbers missing on India’s second-highest mountain, an official said.
Four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian were set to climb the 25,675-foot Nanda Devi East peak — near the border with China — and return to their base camp last weekend.
But the group, led by the British climber Martin Moran, who has successfully climbed the world’s 23rd-highest peak several times in the past, failed to report back to the Munsiyari base camp after starting the ascent on May 13.
“We have activated resources to trace the climbers after they failed to return to the base camp, but bad weather is hindering the operation,” said Vijay Kumar Jogdande, a local magistrate.
A porter stationed at the base camp in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand said the climbers failed to return on May 26, prompting the search.
Mr. Jogdande said heavy rain and snowfall in the region had lasted a week and hampered aerial surveillance.
Teams are trekking to the base camp to trace the missing climbers, but there is little information thus far about their plans, Mr. Jogdande added.
He said investigators were verifying a May 22 Facebook post by Mr. Moran, in which he hinted that the group might scale a never-before-climbed peak in the trans-Himalayan region.
Hundreds of climbers from across the world visit India to scale mountains located across the Himalayan belt.
India has 10 peaks above 23,000 feet. They include Kangchenjunga — the world’s third-highest — sandwiched between India and Nepal.
Four Indians were among 11 climbers who died climbing Mount Everest in the latest season that ended this week.
Source : Nytimes
