The group of eight led by British guide
Martin Moran disappeared in the Nanda Devi region in May
Press
Association
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Nanda Devi in the Indian
Himalayas where eight climbers went missing after a suspected avalanche in
May.
Photograph: STRINGER/Reuters |
The bodies of seven of a group of eight
missing climbers have been recovered in the Indian Himalayas, officials have
said.
The group of climbers, believed to be
comprised of four Britons, two Americans, one Australian and an Indian liaison
officer, vanished in the Nanda Devi region on 26 May following an avalanche.
Rescue teams will continue to search the area
for the body of the eighth mountaineer, Associated Press reported on Sunday.
Led by British mountain guide Martin Moran,
the team was attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in a remote area.
Officials previously said that all eight of
the missing climbers were presumed dead, while four others who were part of the
group were rescued.
Earlier this month, a mission was launched to
recover five bodies spotted during the search for the missing group of eight.
On Sunday, AP reported that the administrator
of Uttarakhand state, Vijay Jogdande, said that soldiers had found the bodies
of seven of the climbers.
The bodies, which are said to have been found
at an altitude of more than 5,000m, will be brought to base camp to be formally
identified.
The search for the eighth mountaineer will
continue, Jogdande is reported to have said.
Moran, originally from Tyneside, has been a
mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company – Moran Mountain, based in
Strathcarron in the Scottish Highlands – with his wife Joy, while their
grown-up children Hazel and Alex also work for the business.
In an earlier statement, his family said: “We
are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of
the Indian Himalayas.
“As a family, we share the same emotions that
all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being
of those closest to us.”
The group also included Ruth McCance from
Sydney, whose husband, Trent Goldsack, said climbing was “part of her”.
“She had been planning on doing something
like this ever since I have known her, more than 20 years,” he said.
The Moran family explained how the group “had
set out to attempt an unclimbed, unnamed summit, Peak 6477m, and the last
contact intimated that all was well”.
But they said that it is “not entirely clear”
what happened next, and an alarm was raised on the morning of May 31 after the
group failed to return to base camp.
Richard Payne, an academic from the
University of York, is believed to be among the group of missing climbers.
Last month, the university said it was
“extremely concerned” about Payne, and said: “Our thoughts are with his family,
friends and colleagues at this difficult time.”
The four men who were rescued are Mark
Thomas, 44, Zachary Quain, 32, Kate Armstone, 39 and Ian Wade, 45.
Climber Nigel Vardy, who has known Mr Moran
for 20 years, previously described him as “an absolute professional and
genuinely a really, really nice guy”.
