Focus on 'retrieving bodies' in Himalayas
Indian authorities are determining how they'll retrieve the bodies of five climbers spotted 500 metres below where their eight-member international team, including an Australian, was hit by an avalanche in the Himalayas.
Sydney mountaineer Ruth McCance is missing presumed dead on Nanda Devi East along with British team leader Martin Moran, three other UK climbers, two men from the United States and an Indian liaison officer.
High-resolution photographs taken during an aerial mission has identified five bodies as well as a number of other personal effects such as rucksacks.
It's feared the three other climbers could be buried beneath the avalanche.
The Indian airforce, mountain troops and Indian Mountaineering Foundation volunteers are discussing whether the five visible bodies can be winched out by helicopter or if they'll need to be carried down by foot.
"Everybody is trying to figure out a way," IMF spokesman Amit Chowdhury told AAP on Tuesday, adding they were wary of further avalanches.
"This is extremely dangerous terrain and we don't want to cause further harm to any rescuers."
Mr Chowdhury believes all eight mountaineers were together when disaster struck.
"It's not possible for someone in this party to go anywhere else," he said.
"There are no obvious survivors. If there were any survivors they would have been spotted because there's a huge amount of debris that has come down the mountain."
Mr Moran on May 25 sent a message saying his team of eight were preparing to ascend an unclimbed summit known only as Peak 6447m. They weren't heard from again.
It appears the men and Ms McCance were swept away from an altitude of about 5400 metres, Mr Chowdhury said on Tuesday.
The five bodies were found 400 to 500 metres lower down the mountain.
Authorities say the possibility of anyone still being alive is virtually zero
"The focus now is on being able to retrieve the bodies so they can be given a decent funeral," Mr Chowdhury said.
