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| Three Britons among group missing after Himalayan avalanche | Three Britons among group missing after Himalayan avalanche |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At least three people from the UK, as well as two from the US and an Australian woman, are reported to be among a group of eight climbers who have gone missing in the Himalayas after a heavy avalanche. | |
| It is believed the climbers, including an Indian guide, failed to return to base camp after their attempt to climb to the summit of Nanda Devi, India’s second-highest mountain at 7,434 metres, on a previously unclimbed route. | |
| India has sent out a search team on foot, but they are not expected to reach the amateur climbers’ last known camp for three days. However, it is hoped that a helicopter will be able to drop rescuers in on Sunday. | |
| “We always have hope, but to be practical, we have to be prepared for bad news,” Indian Mountaineering Foundation spokesman Amid Chowdhury told the Australian Associated Press on Saturday. | |
| A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are in contact with the Indian authorities following reports that a number of British nationals are missing in the Indian Himalayas. We will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help.” | A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are in contact with the Indian authorities following reports that a number of British nationals are missing in the Indian Himalayas. We will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help.” |
| A spokesperson from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian that may be among a group of trekkers missing in the Nanda Devi area of India. Due to privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further information.” | A spokesperson from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian that may be among a group of trekkers missing in the Nanda Devi area of India. Due to privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further information.” |
| In a Facebook post last week, the company that arranged the expedition said: “The Nanda Devi team has reached their second base camp at 4,870 metres, their home for the next week. After a recce of the route they will be making a summit attempt on an unclimbed peak at 6,477 metres.” | |
| The missing eight were reportedly part of a larger contingent of 12 who began their ascent from the village of Munsiyari, in the hill state of Uttarakhand, north India near the western Nepal border, on 13 May. | |
| However, by last Saturday, just four of the group had returned to base camp and authorities were informed of their disappearance on Friday, officials told local media. | |
| It is unclear whether the climbers went missing during their ascent or descent, while the cause of their disappearance remains unknown. | |
| The group said it had trekked into the heart of the Nanda Devi sanctuary “with the ambition of summiting a virgin peak”. The complete trip was expected to take about 24 days. | |
| It follows a number of deaths on the mountains this year, with five people – including a British man and an Irish man – reported to have died last week amid overcrowding and poor weather. There have reportedly been a record 381 permits issued to scale Everest for this climbing season. | |
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