Sydney woman Ruth McCance is among eight climbers missing in the Himalayas after an avalanche occurred on the route that she and her group were thought to be taking.
McCance, an experienced amateur climber, had been on a 24-day trip attempting to scale India‘s second-highest peak, Nanda Devi, at the time of the avalanche.
The alarm was raised when she and her party, which was led by British climbing expert Martin Moran, failed to return to base camp last Sunday.
A search was carried out, and the group’s abandoned tents were found at a higher camp.
Alongside Ruth McCance and Moran, the group included three British male climbers, two American men and an Indian guide.
Their group had initially included four other climbers, but per ABC News reports, these additional climbers had earlier chosen to return to base camp.
A search for the team is currently underway, but rescuers are reportedly travelling on foot, and “troublesome” weather condition are said to be hampering progress.
“We always have hope but to be practical, we have to be prepared for bad news,” Indian Mountaineering Foundation representative Amid Chowdhury said of the search prospects.
