The bodies of seven mountaineers missing in India on a summit of the Himalayas were discovered Sunday by a team of rescuers specialized in interventions in the high mountains, announced the border police.
These rescuers left in early June looking for eight mountaineers - four British, two Americans, one Indian and one Australian - in the Nanda Devi, the second highest mountain in India.
The bodies of seven of them, who were recovered after seven hours of work, were "transported to a nearby site," said a spokesman for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). , Vivek Kumar Pandey. "We also discovered mountain equipment," he added. Research to find the eighth dead climber will continue Monday, said the spokesman. "The conditions on the ground were extremely difficult because of the steep slope, the accumulation of snow and strong winds," he explained.
Identities of victims not yet established
The identities and nationalities of the seven victims found have not yet been determined. Four other British mountaineers rescued after separating from the main group had helped the rescue teams to locate the others. The group of eight mountaineers, led by veteran mountaineer Martin Moran, was allowed to climb the eastern summit of Nanda Devi. But according to a message posted on Facebook on May 22 by the company of Martin Moran, they actually intended to attempt the ascent of a "summit that had not yet been climbed", about 6.500 meters high .
Research made difficult by bad weather
The missing mountaineers had last communicated on May 26, the day before heavy snowfall and avalanches. Major search operations had been initiated by the Indian authorities, but they had been affected by bad weather and difficult terrain. Hundreds of mountaineers from around the world travel to India every year to climb the Himalayan peaks, and those of the Nanda Devi are considered some of the most difficult.