Braving roaring winds and thick snowfall, an ambitious group of French high flyers is trying to shoot past the Indian Air Force's (IAF) world record for the highest landing by a helicopter. 

This expedition season, an 11-member crew is being led by French pilot Delsesalle Didier.

Their Eurocopter, permitted by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to make the attempt within a month, tried twice last week to land on the slope of Mt Everest, standing above 29,000 ft but was thwarted by bad weather that beat back climbers as well.

The IAF created the record last November when they landed at an altitude of 25,150 ft at Saserkangri near Leh in India's Jammu and Kashmir.

In May last year, the Indian eagles also touched a new high in high-altitude rescue mission.

Defying jet speed winds and turbulent weather, Wing Commander S.K. Sharma and his co-pilot Flt. Lt. A.B. Dhanake of IAF succeeded in rescuing three badly hurt climbers after landing at an altitude of 23,240 ft on the Kamet glacier in the Himalayan range in Garhwal, India.

The IAF, though not planning any further landing record this season, has sent an expedition to scale Mt Everest via Tibet.

--Indo-Asian News Service