Final moments of British climbers who died in Himalayas revealed
Written by News on 09/07/2019
A video showing the final moments of British climbers whose bodies were recovered in the Himalayas has been released by Indian authorities.
The clip shows the four Britons and their fellow climbers – two Americans, an Australian and an Indian – ascending in clear weather.
Briton Martin Moran, who led the group, remains missing after seven bodies were airlifted out of the mountain range at an altitude of more than 5,000m (16,400ft) following an avalanche.
The group, who had been attempting to climb India’s second-highest peak Nanda Devi, went missing on 26 May.
The clip, which runs to almost two minutes, shows the eight climbers roped together and could reveal clues to help investigators understand what went wrong.
Released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the footage was found on a camera discovered in the snow near where the bodies were found in June.
ITBP spokesman Vivek Kumar Pandey speculated that the group’s combined weight could have caused a snow ledge they were on to give way and may have triggered an avalanche.
ITBP deputy inspector general A.P.S. Nambadia said: “The GoPro was proved to be like the black box of an aircraft giving an insight into the last few moments of the climbers.
“It was mesmerising for us to see the footage”.
The group began their ascent on 13 May.
Mr Moran was guiding Britons John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, Americans Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel, Australian Ruth McCance and Indian Chetan Pandey.
Nigel Vardy, a mountaineer who has known Mr Moran for 20 years, described his friend as a “top of the range” climber who “knows the area”.
(c) Sky News 2019: Final moments of British climbers who died in Himalayas revealed
