Missouri father among climbers missing in Indian Himalayas

Breaking News Emails

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

SUBSCRIBE

By Saphora Smith and Caroline Radnofsky

LONDON — An American man is among eight climbers who went missing while attempting to scale an unconquered peak in the remote Indian Himalayas, according to his family.

Anthony Sudekum, 63, a medical doctor from Defiance, Missouri was part of a group that disappeared after setting off to attempt an unnamed peak in the Nanda Devi region of the mountain range, according to his daughter Lucy Sudekum.

The U.S. State Department said Sunday that it was aware of reports that two American citizens were missing in India. But NBC News could not immediately confirm the disappearance of a second American.

The alarm was raised early Friday but it remains unclear what happened to the group. It appears that an avalanche may have happened on or very near the route that the climbers were due to take to the 21,000ft (6,477m) summit, the company added.

The group was on an expedition to Nanda Devi East but they went on an acclimatization climb on an unnamed and unclimbed Peak, according to the British Association of Mountain Guides.

The group was lead by Martin Moran, the founder of a Scottish adventuring company, Mountain Moran. A statement posted on the website said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalaya.

“As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or wellbeing of those closest to us.”

source: nbcnews.com