Kolkata:
Rescue workers have not found any trace so far of the mountaineer Chhanda Gayen and two Sherpas, who went missing after being caught in an avalanche while attempting to climb 8,505-metre-high Kangchenjunga West.
West Bengal government officials told PTI that helicopters from the Kanchenjunga base camp in Nepal couldn't conduct any search and rescue operation due to bad weather during the day.
State youth services minister Arup Biswas said a three-member team, including two mountaineers Ujjal Roy and Devdas Nandi have been sent to co-ordinate the rescue operation.
"We are co-ordinating with the Nepal government through the External Affairs ministry and also with members of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. So far we have not got any news of those missing," Mr Biswas said.
The state government has said it was ready to bear all expenses related to the rescue operations.
Ms Gayen, known for being the first civilian women from West Bengal to climb Mount Everest, had gone missing yesterday.
She had annexed the 8,585-metre high Kanchenjunga Main, the third tallest peak on May 18 along with three other city climbers Tusi Das, Dipankar Ghosh and Rajib Bhattacharjee.
According to reports available Mr Tusi, Mr Rajiv and Mr Dipankar decided to return to the base camp after the summit, while Ms Chhanda along with two Sherpas Dawa Wangchu Mingma Temba went on to climb the nearby Yalung Kang, also known as Kanchenjunga West.