Night Hunter

She's a heavily-armed soldier with a beefy mech at her beck and call. She's a walking weapons platform, and you can watch 10 minutes of her making hordes of enemies explode in showers of loot in the gameplay demo above. Moze is shooting a path through the swamps of Eden-6, and while the demo is mostly concerned with mayhem, she does have a quest to find a vault key. Vaults have always been central to Borderlands, but this time we'll be searching for lots of different ones, and we'll have multiple worlds to scour. At several points during her fight across the damp village, she leaps backwards into her mech, Iron Bear, and gives her enemies a nasty surprise. It's got a minigun and homing missiles, and it makes short work of the unfortunate swamp people. It consumes fuel, but a quick look at Moze's skill trees reveal ways to replenish it, like by killing more enemies. Another skill lets Iron Bear stick around in a fight even after Moze has left it, briefly giving players another teammate. As a D.Va main, she is definitely the Vault Hunter for me. When Moze isn't in her mech she's still pretty dangerous. A lot of her skills seem focused on damage and critical damage, both with guns and grenades, and she can learn to shoot and sprint at the same time. Iron Bear's weapons pack a wallop, but when they're not available there are plenty of alternatives, from rusty shotguns to flashy rifles with smart bullets. A couple of familiar faces pop up, though not in person. Moxxi sends Moze on a mission, while Zer0 tasks her with murdering some guy. Conveniently, he appears straight away. Presumably there will be a string of assassination missions that you can trigger by visiting specific places. Gearbox was at the PC Gaming Show, so we asked creative director Paul Sage your important Borderlands 3 questions. He neither confirmed or denied that you can pet your gun. Borderlands 3 is due out on September 13. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/borderlands-3-e3-demo-shows-off-moze-and-her-mech/

A vast underwater theme park spanning 100,000 square meters off a Bahraini island city and featuring a sunken Boeing 747 is to open in August, the Persian Gulf country has announced. Bahrain is hoping to attract divers from across the globe with the expansive site off Diyar Al Muharraq, a city which sits across seven artificial islands. Billed as the world's largest underwater park, its centerpiece is the decommissioned, specially prepared aircraft. Such a feature might be of dubious taste -- but that hasn't deterred the project managers. The 70-meter-long plane is "the largest ever to be submerged," according to Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain's minister of industry, commerce and tourism. The subaquatic project is the product of a partnership between the Supreme Council for Environment, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), and the private sector. The diving site will also feature a replica Bahraini pearl merchant's house, artificial coral reefs and art sculptures. Residents and tourists will be able to book trips through licensed diving centers by August 2019, Al Zayani said on Monday. "We are proud to launch this unique eco-friendly project," the minister announced. Officials say the new Bahrain attraction adheres to strict environmental standards, and will promote marine life growth and revive the local ecosystem. But marine specialist Adriana Humanes, who has a PhD in Marine Ecology from James Cook University, Australia and is currently based at Newcastle University in the UK, says that artificial coral reefs are not always ecologically sound. "As corals reefs in good health state become less abundant and divers become more skilled and experienced, artificial reefs have become popular alternatives used by governments and the tourism industry to attract visitors to certain areas of interest," says Humanes. "Wreck diving is one of the oldest methods used to construct artificial reefs by providing a structure to marine sessile organisms and fishes." Humanes says that wreck diving provides "unique, diverse and intriguing diving experiences" -- but clarifies that there may be downsides. "Their materials -- copper, copper alloys, aluminum, lead and steel, petroleum hydrocarbons and other potential pollutant -- can be subject to corrosion, [passing] heavy metals into the seawater and affecting the surrounding marine organisms. "Corrosion will also lead to the subsequent loss of structural integrity, potentially affecting marine life living in the area or becoming a safety threat to visitor divers." The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Agency said the aircraft will be specially prepared before it is lowered into the water. "All aircraft surfaces will be subjected to a high-pressure wash with bio-friendly detergents to ensure all post-production coatings, oil and grime are removed," a spokesperson told CNN Travel. "Furthermore, a vast amount of time has been spent removing contaminants from the aircraft. This has included removing all wiring, all hydraulic, pneumatic and fuel systems, and all adhesives, insulation, plastics, rubbers, chemicals or other potential toxic Bahrain's proposition is not the first time an airplane's been deliberately sunk to create a diving attraction. In the United States, a Boeing 727 jet was sunk off the coast of Miami in 1993. It was damaged during Hurricane Gordon in summer 1995. Meanwhile at Mermet Springs in Illinois, a Boeing 727 that featured in the 1990s movie "U.S. Marshals" now lies below water and forms part of a popular diving site. Source https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/boeing-jet-underwater-park-bahrain/index.html

Go outside at night. Look for a bright spot that outshines most stars. That's Jupiter. The massive gas giant planet is showing off for us Earthlings this month. Jupiter will reach opposition on Monday, June 10, in an annual event that marks the time when Earth is directly between the gas giant and the sun. This means Jupiter is fairly close to Earth and you can spot it lurking in the sky all night long. This entire month offers up great viewing opportunities. "The solar system's largest planet is a brilliant jewel to the naked eye, but looks fantastic through binoculars or a small telescope, which will allow you to spot the four largest moons, and maybe even glimpse a hint of the banded clouds that encircle the planet," NASA suggests in a skywatching update for June. While Jupiter is in a prime position right now, skygazers are often able to see its biggest moons with binoculars at other times of the year, too. It's helpful if you're in an area with low light pollution. Opposition just happens to be a perfect excuse to go out and try some moon-spotting for yourself. And be sure to wave at Mr. Hankey if you see him. Source https://www.cnet.com/news/jupiter-opposition-so-planet-close-to-earth-you-can-see-its-moons-with-binoculars/

Cyberpunk 2077 has revealed a little bit of its grimy sci-fi story, most notably that it will start the perpetually youthful Keanu Reeves, star of John Wick and Bill & Ted. Check out the cinematic trailer above. Reeves also came out on stage to tell us the release date. Cyberpunk 2077 is due out on April 16, 2020. Getting Keanu Reeves to announce your game's release date is, I'm sure we can all agree, a strong move. The trailer takes place after the events shown off in last year's gameplay reveal, with V—a man this time—returning to his big shot employer to get his reward. Through a flashback, we find out his buddy was killed during the job, and V almost joins him. It looks like we'll be in for a revenge tale, then, which is perfect for the John Wick star. He shows up at the end of the trailer. "We have a city to burn," he says, smouldering. Exciting! It's a shame it's a cinematic and not more in-game footage, but it's Keanu! We can forgive. Cyberpunk 2077 is now available for pre-purchase on GOG and Steam. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-release-date/

MachineGames executive producer Jerk Gustafsson took the stage at Bethesda's E3 presser to talk a bit about the new Wolfenstein game Youngblood. Most of what he said is already known: It's the 1980s, BJ Blazkowicz is missing, and so his daughters set off to track him down in occupied Paris. But he also brought us a new trailer, and it's pretty sweet. Wolfenstein: Youngblood will be "bigger than any previous Wolfenstein game," Gustafsson said, with more weapons, upgrades, customization options, and "more evil Nazis to kill" in either solo or two-player co-op mode. It will feature Dishonored-style "open-ended" level design than previous games in the serious—Arkane is working on it along with MachineGames—and ray-traced lighting, meaning that it should look very sweet indeed for RTX card owners. It's set to come out on July 26. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/wolfenstein-youngblood-gets-a-new-nazi-killin-trailer-for-e3/

E3 2019 is about to hit California, and now one of the biggest publishers out there, Nintendo, has confirmed all the Switch games it's taking to the show this year. We already knew about a few of them, but there are still some surprising titles (and a notable omission) we didn't know about. In a press release, Nintendo confirmed it's bringing Pokemon Sword and Shield to the E3 show floor. That was to be expected, after the recent Pokemon Nintendo Direct stream, in which we discovered Sword and Shield's release date, story details, and more. In addition, the platform holder stated Luigi's Mansion 3, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will all be playable on Nintendo Switch. There's no mention of the upcoming Animal Crossing for Switch, which is yet to be properly revealed, but Nintendo does say "other games" not listed in its press release will be playable at its booth. Other Switch games we already knew to be attending E3 include Doom Eternal, FIFA 20, and Fortnite. We may well see more revealed during Nintendo's E3 Direct presentation, though the company's E3 plans span more than just that press conference. While Nintendo is playing its cards close to its chest for now, many other publishers and developers have confirmed lots more. For more E3 coverage, be sure to check out the full E3 conference schedule and our running list of every single game confirmed to appear at E3 2019. Source https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-announce-the-playable-e3-2019-switch-game/1100-6467426/

Solar power from moon to Earth — An almost unlimited supply of electricity could be generated on the moon’s surface by huge arrays of solar cells and beamed to Earth by laser. Sunlight falling on a crater … could produce from 10,000 to 100,000 megawatts of power. By comparison, a large hydroelectric dam on Earth produces about 100 megawatts. Solar cells would be more efficient on the moon than on Earth … because of the lack of dimming clouds. There are no solar panels on the moon yet, but scientists are still looking at ways to harness the sun’s energy in space to use as electricity on Earth. A 2012 NASA report proposed a bell-shaped satellite of solar cells that could supply solar energy to Earth, costing roughly $20 billion to launch. China and Japan are further along. China plans to launch small solar power stations into the stratosphere by 2025; Japan has its sights set on a similar one-gigawatt solar plant, generating as much energy as a typical nuclear power plant on Earth, by the 2030s. Source https://www.sciencenews.org/article/50-years-ago-scientists-wanted-build-solar-panels-moon?tgt=nr

Destiny 2's next major expansion is called Shadowkeep, confirmed during the cinematic trailer debut during today's Google Stadia stream. But Bungie's own followup stream has plenty more to say about Shadowkeep, and the future of Destiny as a whole. Things are looking good after the breakup with Activision. Shadowkeep is out this fall and will send players back to the Moon to explore an horror-flavored alien citadel. Apparently the new zone will be twice as big as the Destiny 1 version. The expansion also marks Destiny's move off Battlenet and onto Steam (sayonara, Activision!) and will introduce a free-to-play model that sees Bungie charging for standalone expansions, but giving all the year one content away gratis. The move will also introduce cross-saves for Xbox, Stadia, and yes, PS4 players as well. The base game will be rebranded as Destiny 2: New Light. The free version includes all of the year one missions, activities, and rewards. That will include Strikes (three-player co-op dungeons), player vs. player Crucible modes, and even the original Leviathan raids. Shadowkeep is a standalone expansion. You won't need previous expansions to access Shadowkeep, which reinforces Bungie's plan to sell future updates as standalone releases that players can pick and choose from. The expansion will reconnect players with Eris Morn, which suggests the Hive will be heavily involved. They love the Moon. The new raid will take place in the Black Garden. If you played Destiny 1, you know how important this very vex-y location is. Armour 2.0 is going to double-down on the stats. It appears as though players' gear will now incorporate more mod slots and you'll be able to slot in multiple types to create much more bespoke build. Bungie talked about how in the past it had shied away from the MMORPG label, but was now doubling down on depth and detail. [Updated] Cross-save is coming to Google Stadia, Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Bungie noted that cross-save was always planned for Destiny 2, but "reasons" (presumably Activision's exclusivity deal with Sony) prevented implementation. Now you'll be able to hop between platforms with one account to play with different friend groups. There will be a renewed focus on PvP. Crucible players have been complaining about a lack of updates for some time, and though Bungie didn't go to many specifics, it did talk about beloved game types from the past returning. Exclusives are no more, according to Bungie. All weapons, armor, maps, and activities will be available across all platforms. The jump to Steam is happening when Shadowkeep releases, and should expose Destiny to a much larger audience. It sounds like it won't be difficult for Battle.net players to make the transition, either. Bungie says "current PC players will be able to bring all of their progress and purchases with them, including their Guardians, their vaults, and all of their progress—at no cost. We will have full details on how this migration will work later this summer on Bungie.net" You can watch the vidoc going into these details and more below. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-is-going-free-to-play-on-steam-shadowkeep-expansion-detailed/

DICE has given us our first look at six maps coming to Battlefield 5, starting this month with the arrival of Chapter 4: Defying the Odds on June 27. They'll take players across France, Greece and Norway. Then, with Chapter 5: Awakening the Giant, we'll finally be off to the Pacific theatre. Check out the trailer above. With Chapter 4, DICE wants to fling players into up close and personal fights, but first you'll be duking it out across the desert in vehicles in the Al Sundan map in June. DICE says it's a "vast" map, so expect to be running for cover as tanks chase you down. That'll be followed by a battle in the mountains in Greece in July. It's got a lot of winding paths and buildings, so expect more close quarters firefights than in Al Sundan. In August two new maps will appear, both designed for infantry fights but still pretty distinct. The Norwegian island of Lofoten is absolutely tiny but also not built up at all—it's a sleepy place with only a few buildings. Provence, on the other hand, has streets lined with multi-story buildings that funnel everyone into deadly scraps. In October, things will be getting even more claustrophobic with the introduction of the Operation Underground map, trapping players in trains and tunnels. It looks a little hectic. We've barely even had a look at Chapter 4 yet and DICE is already teasing Chapter 5. We expected it to head over to the Pacific theatre, and while we don't get a good look at the map, the tease at the end of the trailer does confirm our next destination. You'll be able to see more of what's coming to Battlefield 5 in the EA Play livestream on Saturday June 8. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-5-is-heading-to-the-pacific-and-getting-six-new-maps/

YouTube has updated its hate speech policies and will now ban videos “with supremacist content,” as well clips promoting certain conspiracy theories. The company, a subsidiary of Google, announced the clampdown on “hateful content” in a blog post on Wednesday. The company had already restricted commenting and sharing features on similar videos in 2017, but the new ban goes one step further. “Today, we’re taking another step in our hate speech policy by specifically prohibiting videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion, YouTube’s insistence that it will ban all forms of “supremacist” videos stands in contrast to a similar policy change at Facebook, which decided to exclusively ban “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” content, seemingly ignoring similar content from, for example, Black separatist or radical Zionism movements. Nevertheless, YouTube presented “videos that promote or glorify Nazi ideology” as an example that would break its new rules. In addition to these changes, YouTube said it will reduce the spread of content that does not outright violate its policies, but “comes right up to the line.” The company said that this “borderline” content, including flat-earth conspiracy videos and phony science videos, will be dropped from viewers’ recommendations and replaced with videos “from authoritative sources,” a move that will surely rankle free-speech advocates and those who already accuse the site of bias. Source https://www.rt.com/news/461155-youtube-bans-hate-videos/

One of the perks of AMD's recently announced third-generation Ryzen 3000 CPU lineup is support for PCI Express 4.0, a faster bus protocol that paves the way for speedier graphics cards and quicker NVMe solid state drives. Support for PCIe 4.0 is baked into AMD's new X570 chipset. Up until now, motherboard makers had the option of releasing BIOS updates for older models to also support the feature, with AMD's blessing. However, AMD has decided to pivot on that idea. While it's technically possible to enable PCIe 4.0 support on some previous generation motherboards (primarily higher end X470 and X370 models), the stringent signaling requirements mean that not all of them have that capability. As such, AMD says "the potential for confusion is too high," and so it's working with its hardware partners to remove PCIe 4.0 support from finalized BIOS updates on older boards. AMD's senior technical marketing manager, Robert Hallock, explained the decision in a post on Reddit. "This is an error we are correcting. Pre-X570 boards will not support PCIe Gen 4. There's no guarantee that older motherboards can reliably run the more stringent signaling requirements of Gen 4, and we simply cannot have a mix of 'yes, no, maybe' in the market for all the older motherboards. The potential for confusion is too high," Hallock explained. "When final BIOSes are released for 3rd Gen Ryzen (AGESA 1000+), Gen 4 will not be an option anymore. We wish we could've enabled this backwards, but the risk is too great," Hallock added. Previously, AMD left the decision in the hands of motherboard makers, and some chose to validate certain models for the faster spec. Gigabyte, for example, enabled PCIe 4.0 support on its X470 Aorus Gaming Wi-Fi 7 motherboard. Based on what Hallock posted, support will be reversed in a later BIOS update. AMD provided a slightly expanded statement to our friends at TomsHardware. "Users today may find a PCIe 4.0 option available in their pre-X570 motherboards. However, users should expect this option to be disabled when final retail BIOSes are released to implement full performance and stability for new 3rd Gen Ryzen processors," AMD said. "As pre-X570 motherboards were not designed with PCIe 4.0 in mind, their designs may be incapable of running PCIe 4.0 signaling with the requisite stability and performance. To ensure a reliable and consistent experience in the field, PCIe 4.0 will not be an option ultimately available to pre-X570 motherboards. Users may continue with a beta BIOS if they desire, but performance and stability cannot be guaranteed," AMD added. The requirements for PCIe 4.0 are indeed more stringent than they are for PCIe 3.0—wider motherboard traces and placement of traces on multiple layers of the PCB are necessary, according to what some motherboard makers told TomsHardware at Computex. Newer X570 models are built with this in mind. Nevertheless, this is a bummer for anyone who might have opted to spend a premium on a top-shelf X470 or X370 motherboard, with the goal of future-proofing their setup. On the bright side, those boards will still support AMD's latest Ryzen processors, just not PCIe 4.0. For the average user, that is not going to matter much. PCIe 4.0 doubles the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, enabling faster and more flexible communication between the CPU and chipset, and certain devices. However, the PCIe bus is not much of a bottleneck for graphics cards right now, at least as it pertains to gaming performance. In the here and now, PCIe 4.0 is a potentially bigger boon for storage, and we've already seen a few companies announce new NVMe SSDs that push sequential read speeds of around 5,000MB/s. That is incredibly fast for sure. At the same time, the effect on gaming is negligible. A SATA-based SSD is still good enough. If you happen to have an older motherboard with a beta BIOS that adds support for PCIe 4.0, nobody's going to come knocking on your door to force another update. However, don't be surprised if PCIe 4.0 devices act wonky. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/amd-has-decided-to-block-pcie-40-support-on-all-pre-x570-motherboards/

HELSINKI — China remains on schedule to ready its first independent mission to Mars in time for a short launch window in mid-2020, according to a leading space official. "Mars 2020 mission spacecraft is undergoing integration," Wang Chi, director of the National Space Science Center (NSSC) in Beijing, told SpaceNews in a rare update on the mission. Ambitiously, the mission consists of both an orbiter and a rover, with a total of 13 science payloads. The NSSC will be involved in integration of the instruments with the spacecraft. The orbiter will be equipped with a high-resolution camera comparable to HiRise on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a medium-resolution camera, subsurface radar, minearology spectrometer, neutral and energetic particle analyzers and a magnetometer. The 240-kilogram solar-powered rover, nearly twice the mass of China's Yutu lunar rovers, will carry a ground-penetrating radar, multispectral camera, a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy instrument and payloads for detecting the climate and magnetic environment. Meanwhile, the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology, an institute under main space contractor the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), this month completed testing of a variable thrust engine, capable of 7,500 Newtons of thrust, which will provide the majority of deceleration for the landing. Two preliminary landing areas have been selected. The first is Chryse Planitia, close to the landing sites of NASA's Viking 1 and Pathfinder, with the second covering Isidis Planitia and stretches to the western edge of the Elysium Mons region, between the landing sites of Curiosity and Viking 2. Site selection has been driven by a range of factors including flight system engineering constraints and the challenges of entry, descent and landing (EDL) on the Red Planet, and the science goals of the mission. China has landed two spacecraft, Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4, on the moon, but the challenges for Mars are greater and more varied. The presence of a thin atmosphere poses dangers to the spacecraft through aerothermal heating but does not provide great assistance for slowing or descending via parachute, while the remoteness of Mars means EDL process will be automated. The spacecraft will employ blunt body aerodynamics, a supersonic parachute and powered descent for its landing attempt. Only NASA has succeeded in successfully landing and operating spacecraft on Mars, while Russia and European Space Agency have failed will multiple attempts. A Long March 5, China's most powerful launch vehicle, is required to launch the mission, though the heavy-lift rocket has not flown since a failure in 2017. A return to flight scheduled for mid-July appears to have slipped, as the rocket components have yet to be slipped to the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. A successful launch of the Long March 5 will be required for China to be ready for the Mars Hohmann transfer window in 2020, and missing this low-energy launch period would bring a wait of 26 months until the next mission launch opportunity. Also launching missions to Mars during the launch window in July-August 2020 will be NASA, sending a 1,050-kilogram rover to Jezero crater, the ESA-Russia ExoMars 2020 lander and rover, and an orbiter from the United Arab Emirates. India became the first Asian country to succeed with a mission to the Red Planet with the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft which entered orbit in 2014. China's own first attempt, the Yinghuo-1 spacecraft which piggybacked on the Russian Phobos-Grunt sample return mission, was lost when its Zenit-2SB rocket failed to leave Earth orbit. China's Chang'e-4 spacecraft on the far side of the moon began a sixth lunar day of activities earlier this week, with the Yutu-2 rover awakening at 2:16 p.m. Eastern May 27, and the lander following at 6 a.m. May 28. The Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration made the announcement May 28, stating that all eight science payloads would continue operation. Despite a decrease in drive distances across lunar days, Wang Chi states that Yutu-2, "keeps roving and making observations as scheduled." Yutu-2 drove just 11.76 meters across day five, having covered 120 meters across the first two lunar days of operations. A Chinese language space popularization blog stated following the end of lunar day five that sunlight reflected from the rover body onto the surface was causing issues with the obstacle detection systems, preventing roving. Early results from the Visible and Near Infrared Spectrometer aboard Yutu-2 reported in Nature this month suggest the in-situ detection of materials originating from the lunar mantle in the regolith of Von Kármán crater. Source https://www.space.com/chinas-first-mars-spacecraft-for-2020-launch.html

Now we've got a glimpse of what it's looking like, thanks to the trailer above. Yep, those are certainly some old school ghouls. Plenty of locations familiar from Fallout 3 are visible behind the exploding ghouls, like the Metro Tunnels and Megaton, and fondly remembered outfits like the Vault armor and various bits of raider and merc fashion are visible too. he Capital Wasteland mod had to be delayed for legal reasons, with the team learning they'd have to re-record all of the original game's audio rather than being able to import it directly across. According to the mod team, "Well after finding some incredibly talented people we have decided to attempt re-voicing the game, Other audio such as music will have to wait till such a time as we have people capable of dealing with it." Fingers crossed they don't hit any more significant hurdles. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-a-new-trailer-for-fallout-capital-wasteland/

A search team in the Indian Himalayas has spotted five bodies on the unnamed peak where eight climbers are believed to have gone missing a week ago. Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vijay Kumar Jogdande told CNN Monday that the bodies appear to be partially buried in an avalanche on the peak in different locations. The bodies were identified following analysis of photographs taken by a helicopter that conducted an air survey of the area earlier in the day. By Monday afternoon local time, the search operation had stopped for the day, Jogdande said. Now, authorities are formulating a plan to recover the bodies. On Sunday, helicopter teams saw signs of an avalanche on the peak the group were thought to be on, according to two state officials. On Monday a lone chopper went to recce the area and its crew discovered the backpack at an elevation of about 5,000 meters. Jogdande said it was likely the missing team had been caught up in a "huge avalanche." "The chances of survival are almost zero now," he said. The missing climbers -- four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and their Indian liaison officer -- went missing in the region of Nanda Devi East, one of the highest peaks in India at just over 7,400 meters (24,000 feet.) The group was attempting to scale a previously unclimbed and unnamed peak believed to be about 6,477 meters (21,250 feet) high, according to Facebook posts from the group's expedition company. The alarm was raised a few days after they failed to return to camp. The eight climbers did not have permission to climb an unnamed peak, Indian authorities said Monday. Jogdande added that if authorities had known that the eight climbers were planning on climbing the unnamed peak instead of Nanda Devi East, they "would not have given permission." He said that heavy rain and high winds in the area had been hampering search efforts. Group leader identified The British Association of Mountain Guides (BMG) identified British national Martin Moran as the group's leader and one of those missing. "Martin Moran was leading six clients and an Indian National," said BMG President Mark Charlton in the statement, which was posted on Facebook. "The BMG is assisting where possible and is in contact with the Indian authorities." Moran owns Scottish-based mountaineering adventure company Moran Mountain, which runs climbing expeditions in the Alps, Norway and the Himalayas. On its website, the company said it is one of "Britain's most experienced mountain adventure companies." Moran, from Tyneside in northeast England, is an experienced climber and has been a British Mountain Guide since 1985, according to Moran Mountain's website. In an official statement, the Moran family said it was "deeply saddened by the tragic events." "As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being of those closest to us," the statement said. The family said it was pressing for the search area to be widened and would continue "to ascertain the well-being or otherwise of all those in the climbing group," until they had further news. Lost in the Himalayas The missing eight climbers were part of a larger team of 12 who set off from the village of Munsiyari on May 13. After a six-day trek, the team reached Nanda Devi East base camp on May 18. On May 22, the Moran Mountain group posted on Facebook saying the team had reached their second base camp at 15,977 feet (4,870 meters). Jogdande said each member of the 12-person team had permits to summit Nanda Devi East, but they divided themselves in two teams at the higher base camp. Four climbers attempted to climb Nanda Devi East but returned after reaching a height of 16,404 feet (5,000 meters), Jogdande said. The other eight set off to summit a previously unclimbed and unnamed peak. The Moran family statement said the last contact with the group had been from a camp at around 17,716 feet (5,400 meters). "It is not entirely clear what happened from this point onwards or indeed the timeline of events," it added. Rescuers 'hopeful' of finding eight climbers missing in Himalayas Rescuers 'hopeful' of finding eight climbers missing in Himalayas "There are multiple unknown peaks in this region. If we had known before (that they were attempting the unnamed peak) we would not have given permission," Jogdande said. After the eight-person group failed to return to base camp on May 26, the authorities were alerted on May 31, Jogdande said. Countries providing consular assistance The identities of the other missing climbers have not been officially released. A United States state department official said in a statement it was aware of reports of two US citizens missing in India and was "monitoring the situation." Similarly, the UK Foreign Office said it was in contact with Indian authorities following reports of the missing climbers. And Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also said it was "providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian that may be among a group of trekkers missing in the Nanda Devi area of India." The rescue effort follows the deaths of 11 climbers on Mount Everest this year, amid extraordinary images of queues of people waiting to get to the summit, prompting fresh concerns over the increased commercialization of mountaineering expeditions. Source https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/03/asia/8-climbers-indian-himalayas-avalanche-intl/index.html