Search for eight missing climbers in India's Himalayas halted by poor weather
- Four Britons, two Americans, one Indian and one Australian are still unaccounted for after a weekend of searching
- They were attempting to scale ‘an unclimbed peak’ as an avalanche struck after heavy snowfall
An increasingly desperate search for eight climbers missing after an avalanche in the Indian Himalayas was called off due to poor weather but will resume at first light on Monday, officials said.
The four Britons, two Americans, one Indian and one Australian have been unaccounted for since Friday on the 7,826 metre Nanda Devi, India’s second-highest mountain.
Two helicopters and scores of emergency workers combed the area on Sunday for a second day, but the search was called off in the early afternoon due to heavy cloud coverage.
Vijay Kumar Jogdande, a magistrate in the Pithoragarh district where the mountain is located, said it would begin again at 5am on Monday, weather permitting.
“We are hopeful to get some clues but it’s not an easy task,” said Jogdande.
He said the climbers were likely trekking heights above 6,000 metres when the avalanche struck after heavy snowfall.