4 rescued, 8 still missing on avalanche-hit Indian peak

Four British climbers have been rescued from an avalanche-hit Himalayan mountain range, Indian authorities said yesterday, as a frantic search continued for eight other mountaineers still missing on its treacherous heights.  Helicopters airlifted the rescued group to safety after they were spotted early yesterday at a base camp near India's second highest mountain, the 7,826-metre Nanda Devi. Scores of emergency workers were combing the peaks on foot and using two choppers as rescue operations entered a second day, having been hampered by rough weather on Saturday. The eight missing climbers -- four Britons, two Americans, an Australian woman and an Indian -- were last week set to scale an unclimbed summit in the mountain range.