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| Backpack found in Himalayas near where eight climbers went missing | Backpack found in Himalayas near where eight climbers went missing |
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| A backpack has reportedly been found in the snow near where eight climbers went missing after avalanches in the Himalayas. | A backpack has reportedly been found in the snow near where eight climbers went missing after avalanches in the Himalayas. |
| A helicopter search team in the Indian Himalayas saw the item, CNN reported. The discovery comes after officials said hopes of finding the climbers were slim after they were not found during initial airborne searches. | A helicopter search team in the Indian Himalayas saw the item, CNN reported. The discovery comes after officials said hopes of finding the climbers were slim after they were not found during initial airborne searches. |
| On Sunday two Indian airforce helicopters searched around the Nanda Devi mountain, India’s second highest peak at about 24,000 feet (7,400 metres), which the group were attempting to climb on a previously unused route. But the operation was suspended because of poor weather. | On Sunday two Indian airforce helicopters searched around the Nanda Devi mountain, India’s second highest peak at about 24,000 feet (7,400 metres), which the group were attempting to climb on a previously unused route. But the operation was suspended because of poor weather. |
| The climbers include four people from Britain, two from the US, one from Australia and one from India. | The climbers include four people from Britain, two from the US, one from Australia and one from India. |
| They were attempting to scale a previously unclimbed and unnamed peak, Facebook posts from their expedition company suggested. Concern was raised a few days after they failed to return to camp. | They were attempting to scale a previously unclimbed and unnamed peak, Facebook posts from their expedition company suggested. Concern was raised a few days after they failed to return to camp. |
| Searches revealed signs of an avalanche on the peak the group were thought to be on, according to two state officials. The top civil servant in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state, Vijay Kumar Jogdande, said it was likely the missing team had been caught up in a “huge avalanche”. | |
| He added: “The chances of survival are almost zero now.” | He added: “The chances of survival are almost zero now.” |
| On Monday, a lone helicopter searched the area and its crew discovered the backpack at about 5,000 metres. | On Monday, a lone helicopter searched the area and its crew discovered the backpack at about 5,000 metres. |
| The group had reached their second base camp at 4,870 metres (15,977ft) by 22 May. On 25 May the expedition’s deputy leader, Mark Thomas, returned to camp with three others. Their fellow climbers were expected to make a summit attempt on an unclimbed peak at 6,477 metres (21,250ft). | The group had reached their second base camp at 4,870 metres (15,977ft) by 22 May. On 25 May the expedition’s deputy leader, Mark Thomas, returned to camp with three others. Their fellow climbers were expected to make a summit attempt on an unclimbed peak at 6,477 metres (21,250ft). |
| When the others did not return as planned, a team member was sent down and informed officials late on Friday. The four were picked up by helicopter on Saturday and were named by India TV as Thomas, Ian Wade, Kate Armstrong and Zachary Quain. | When the others did not return as planned, a team member was sent down and informed officials late on Friday. The four were picked up by helicopter on Saturday and were named by India TV as Thomas, Ian Wade, Kate Armstrong and Zachary Quain. |
| The eight people who remain missing were named by local authorities as Martin Moran, the expedition leader, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from the UK, Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the US, Ruth McCance from Australia, and Chetan Pandey, a guide from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. | The eight people who remain missing were named by local authorities as Martin Moran, the expedition leader, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from the UK, Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the US, Ruth McCance from Australia, and Chetan Pandey, a guide from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. |
| McCance, from Sydney, is an experienced climber. She explained in a blogpost that she stopped climbing at the age of 30 before beginning again at the age of 47. She said: “As much as I loved it and saw others climbing safely and well, I became overwhelmed by the risks involved, so I stopped.” | McCance, from Sydney, is an experienced climber. She explained in a blogpost that she stopped climbing at the age of 30 before beginning again at the age of 47. She said: “As much as I loved it and saw others climbing safely and well, I became overwhelmed by the risks involved, so I stopped.” |
| She added: “I stopped climbing when I was 30 because I had run out of mental and emotional reserves. I didn’t know at the time but I was struggling with a perfect storm of inherited beliefs of ‘don’t push your luck’ and ‘don’t trust yourself’. | She added: “I stopped climbing when I was 30 because I had run out of mental and emotional reserves. I didn’t know at the time but I was struggling with a perfect storm of inherited beliefs of ‘don’t push your luck’ and ‘don’t trust yourself’. |
| “Each time I lead a climb successfully, rather than confirming my competence it became another lucky escape from what I believed was an inevitable accident.” | “Each time I lead a climb successfully, rather than confirming my competence it became another lucky escape from what I believed was an inevitable accident.” |
| Moran, a UK-based mountaineer, is known to have been leading the group of climbers. He was part of the first team to complete a continuous traverse of all the alpine 4,000-metre peaks without using any motorised assistance in 1993. | Moran, a UK-based mountaineer, is known to have been leading the group of climbers. He was part of the first team to complete a continuous traverse of all the alpine 4,000-metre peaks without using any motorised assistance in 1993. |
| His family said in a statement they were calling for the search area to be widened. They said that they wanted it to continue until the wellbeing or otherwise of all those in the climbing group became clear. | His family said in a statement they were calling for the search area to be widened. They said that they wanted it to continue until the wellbeing or otherwise of all those in the climbing group became clear. |
| The casualty rate in the region where the climbers are missing is almost five times higher than on Mount Everest, according to officials. | The casualty rate in the region where the climbers are missing is almost five times higher than on Mount Everest, according to officials. |
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