Ten mountain rescuers of the Indian-Tibetan border police have recovered seven bodies near the seven-thousander Nanda Devi in the Indian Himalayas. They were buried under a metre and a half of snow, a representative of the Indian authorities said. The search for an eighth climber will continue. As reported, the group led by the experienced British expedition leader Martin Moran had been missing since the end of May. The mountaineers had tackled a 6,477-meter-high mountain not far from the 7,434-meter-high Nanda Devi East.
A few days after contact with them had broken off, the crew of a rescue helicopter had discovered five bodies in an avalanche cone on the west ridge of the mountain. The search had to be interrupted due to new heavy snowfalls and therefore high risk of avalanches. Moran Mountain had contradicted the authorities’ accusation that the group had made their way to the unclimbed six-thousander without permission. According to the British expedition operator, the permit applied to all peaks which could be reached from Nanda Devi East Base Camp.
Three dead climbers in Pakistan
Pakistani rescue forces also got involved early in the summer season in the Karakoram. Last week they rescued four Italian and two Pakistani climbers from the 5,800-meter-high Lions Melvin Jones Peak, who were trapped at 5,300 meters after an avalanche. Their Pakistani mountain guide had died in the avalanche. On the Liligo Glacier in northern Pakistan, the dead bodies of a Chinese climber and another from Hong Kong were found. They had got into bad weather when trying to climb a 6,400-meter-high mountain. Another mountaineer from Hong Kong was rescued alive.
