Mountaineers are to be dropped onto a mountain where five bodies were spotted during the hunt for eight climbers missing in the Himalayas.

The group - thought to be four Britons, two Americans, one Australian and an Indian liaison officer - disappeared on May 26 in the Nanda Devi region of the Himalayas after an avalanche.

Led by Scots-based mountain guide Martin Moran, the team were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in a remote area.

Four other British members of the expedition have been rescued.

Indo Tibetan Border Police officials said that the operation they are calling "Daredevils" was launched on Wednesday to retrieve the bodies, which were seen by air on Nanda Devi East in India's Uttarakhand state.

Officials have said they presume all eight missing climbers are dead.

Approval to launch the operation had been sought from the Indian government in New Delhi due to the difficult terrain and risk of another avalanche.

The bodies, spotted on Monday, are thought to be members of the missing expedition, district magistrate Dr Vijay Kumar Jogdande said previously.

The search for the remaining three mountaineers was suspended on Tuesday amid poor weather conditions.

Mr Moran has been a mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company - Moran Mountain, based in Strathcarron in the Scottish Highlands - with his wife Joy.

In an earlier statement, the Moran family said: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas."