Authorities on Wednesday began airlifting the bodies of seven climbers killed in an avalanche near country's second highest mountain in May, down to the lower ground where they will be identified, officials said.

Eight climbers - four from Britain, two from the United States, and one each from Australia and India - went missing on May 31 after they failed to return to their base camp near the 7,816 metres (25,643 feet) mountain, Nanda Devi.

The body of one of the climbers has not been found.

The paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force is leading the mission to bring the bodies down from the mountains to the town of Pithoragarh, in the north of Uttarakhand.

The first four bodies were brought down early on Wednesday, Vivek Kumar Pandey, a spokesman for the force, told Reuters.

"The remaining three will also be flown into Pithoragarh shortly," Pandey said.

Police, ambulances and mortuary vans awaited the bodies at the Pithoragarh airport, district police chief Ram Chandra Rajguru said.

The bodies will be identified after which they will be flown down to another town for postmortems, he said.

The climbers have been identified as Martin Moran, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from Britain, Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the United States, Ruth McCance from Australia, and liaison officer Chetan Pandey from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.

Nanda Devi and its sister mountain, Nanda Devi East, are among the world's most challenging peaks and only a handful of people have climbed them.

Authorities on Wednesday began airlifting the bodies of seven climbers killed in an avalanche near country's second highest mountain in May, down to the lower ground where they will be identified, officials said.

Authorities on Wednesday began airlifting the bodies of seven climbers killed in an avalanche near country's second highest mountain in May, down to the lower ground where they will be identified, officials said. Eight climbers - four from Britain, two from the United States, and one each from Australia and India - went missing on May 31 after they failed to return to their base camp near the 7,816 metres (25,643 feet) mountain, Nanda Devi. The body of one of the climbers has not been found. The paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force is leading the mission to bring the bodies down from the mountains to the town of Pithoragarh, in the north of Uttarakhand. The first four bodies were brought down early on Wednesday, Vivek Kumar Pandey, a spokesman for the force, told Reuters. "The remaining three will also be flown into Pithoragarh shortly," Pandey said. Police, ambulances and mortuary vans awaited the bodies at the Pithoragarh airport, district police chief Ram Chandra Rajguru said. The bodies will be identified after which they will be flown down to another town for postmortems, he said. The climbers have been identified as Martin Moran, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from Britain, Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the United States, Ruth McCance from Australia, and liaison officer Chetan Pandey from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. Nanda Devi and its sister mountain, Nanda Devi East, are among the world's most challenging peaks and only a handful of people have climbed them.

Police begin airlifting bodies of seven climbers killed in Nanda Devi avalanche

An Indian rescue team has been sent to search for eight missing climbers who had been trying to climb the summit of Nanda Devi, the second-highest peak in India, and were probably hit by a large avalanche, two state government officials said.

The officials said that they had been told that those missing include climbers from Britain, the United States, Australia and India.

The rescue effort began on Saturday when the climbers failed to return to base camp. It may take days to trek to the area where they were last known to have been, said Vijay Kumar Jogdanda, the top civil servant in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

Others in the group, who had turned back earlier, told officials late on Friday that their fellow climbers had not returned to base camp as planned, Sanjay Gunjiyal, the inspector general of police at the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force, told Reuters.

Rescue operations which began on Saturday were called off in the evening due to harsh weather conditions and would resume on Sunday, Gunjiyal said, adding that an air force helicopter will be used for aerial reconnaissance on Sunday. Helicopters may not be able to land anywhere in the area, given the terrain.

The climbers went missing on the Indian side of the Himalayas near the end of a climbing season that has been particularly deadly this year.

At least nine people have died on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest so far this year, the deadliest climbing season on the peak since 2015.

Indian and international news reports said that the team was led by British guide Martin Moran. On the Facebook page of his Moran Mountain company, the last public entry appears to be on May 22.

It says that the Nanda Devi team had reached their second base camp at 4,870 metres, their home for the next week.

"After a recce of the route, they will be making a summit attempt on an unclimbed peak at 6477m. In the words of (US rock climbing pioneer) Royal Robbins, 'A first ascent is a creation in the same sense as is a painting or a song'. We wish them all the very best of luck and an incredible climb!"&nbsp;

An Indian rescue team has been sent to search for eight missing climbers who had been trying to climb the summit of Nanda Devi, the second-highest peak in India, and were probably hit by a large avalanche, two state government officials said.

An Indian rescue team has been sent to search for eight missing climbers who had been trying to climb the summit of Nanda Devi, the second-highest peak in India, and were probably hit by a large avalanche, two state government officials said. The officials said that they had been told that those missing include climbers from Britain, the United States, Australia and India. The rescue effort began on Saturday when the climbers failed to return to base camp. It may take days to trek to the area where they were last known to have been, said Vijay Kumar Jogdanda, the top civil servant in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. Others in the group, who had turned back earlier, told officials late on Friday that their fellow climbers had not returned to base camp as planned, Sanjay Gunjiyal, the inspector general of police at the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force, told Reuters. Rescue operations which began on Saturday were called off in the evening due to harsh weather conditions and would resume on Sunday, Gunjiyal said, adding that an air force helicopter will be used for aerial reconnaissance on Sunday. Helicopters may not be able to land anywhere in the area, given the terrain. The climbers went missing on the Indian side of the Himalayas near the end of a climbing season that has been particularly deadly this year. At least nine people have died on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest so far this year, the deadliest climbing season on the peak since 2015. Indian and international news reports said that the team was led by British guide Martin Moran. On the Facebook page of his Moran Mountain company, the last public entry appears to be on May 22. It says that the Nanda Devi team had reached their second base camp at 4,870 metres, their home for the next week. "After a recce of the route, they will be making a summit attempt on an unclimbed peak at 6477m. In the words of (US rock climbing pioneer) Royal Robbins, 'A first ascent is a creation in the same sense as is a painting or a song'. We wish them all the very best of luck and an incredible climb!"

Rescuers to search for eight climbers missing in Himalayas

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Police begin airlifting bodies of seven climbers killed in Nanda Devi avalanche

Rescuers to search for eight climbers missing in Himalayas