Strong winds delay retrieval of climbers' bodies from Himalayan mountain

Retrieving the bodies of five climbers of an international team from a notoriously dangerous Himalayan mountain isn't immediately possible because helicopters are having difficulty operating due to strong turbulence, an Indian official said Saturday.

This handout photo released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police on June 3, 2019, shows an aerial view of equipment and bodies partially buried in snow taken from a helicopter near the unclimbed peak where the 8 missing mountaineers were reported heading towards Nanda Devi East in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in India. A helicopter searching for eight climbers missing on India's second-highest peak spotted five bodies on June 3, officials said. [Photo: AFP/Indo Tibetan Border Police]

Uttarakhand state Magistrate Vijay Jogdande also said the Indian Mountaineering Foundation could launch a ground expedition to help evacuate the bodies, which have been spotted at an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,404 feet).

He was responding to a statement by the foundation Saturday that it was ready to launch an expedition. The foundation complained that it has been waiting for the permission of state authorities for the past three days.

Veteran British mountaineer Martin Moran led the team of four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian on the expedition on Nanda Devi East. Moran's Scotland-based company said the climbers set out May 13. Contact with a separate trekking team at base camp was lost May 26 following an avalanche. Five bodies have been spotted, but all eight missing climbers are feared dead.

The foundation said its team of highly experienced mountaineers was standing by to move while it had a window of 15-20 days to complete the operation before monsoon rains arrive.