The group of eight led by British guide Martin Moran disappeared in the Nanda Devi region in May

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The bodies of seven of a group of eight missing climbers have been recovered in the Indian Himalayas, officials have said.

The group of climbers, believed to comprise four Britons, two Americans, one Australian and an Indian liaison officer, vanished in the Nanda Devi region on 26 May following an avalanche.

Rescue teams will continue to search the area for the body of the eighth mountaineer, Associated Press reported on Sunday.

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Led by British mountain guide Martin Moran, the team was attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in a remote area.

Officials previously said that all eight of the missing climbers were presumed dead, while four others who were part of the group were rescued.

Earlier this month, a mission was launched to recover five bodies spotted during the search for the missing group of eight.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sydney woman Ruth McCance went missing in the Himalayas. Photograph: Facebook/ Ruth McCance

On Sunday, AP reported that the administrator of Uttarakhand state, Vijay Jogdande, said that soldiers had found the bodies of seven of the climbers.

The bodies, which are said to have been found at an altitude of more than 5,000m, will be brought to base camp to be formally identified.

The search for the eighth mountaineer will continue, Jogdande is reported to have said.

Moran, originally from Tyneside, has been a mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company – Moran Mountain, based in Strathcarron in the Scottish Highlands – with his wife Joy, while their grown-up children Hazel and Alex also work for the business.

In an earlier statement, his family said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas.

“As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being of those closest to us.”

The group also included Ruth McCance from Sydney, whose husband, Trent Goldsack, said climbing was “part of her”.

“She had been planning on doing something like this ever since I have known her, more than 20 years,” he said.

The Moran family explained how the group “had set out to attempt an unclimbed, unnamed summit, Peak 6477m, and the last contact intimated that all was well”.

But they said that it is “not entirely clear” what happened next, and an alarm was raised on the morning of May 31 after the group failed to return to base camp.

Richard Payne, an academic from the University of York, is believed to be among the group of missing climbers.

Last month, the university said it was “extremely concerned” about Payne, and said: “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.”

The four climbers who were rescued are Mark Thomas, 44, Zachary Quain, 32, Kate Armstrong, 39, and Ian Wade, 45.

Climber Nigel Vardy, who has known Mr Moran for 20 years, previously described him as “an absolute professional and genuinely a really, really nice guy”.

• This article was amended on 24 June 2019 because an earlier version named Kate Armstrong as Armstone.



