At least 10 Nepali climbers who were preparing a commercial ascent are missing after an avalanche struck a staging point close to the Himlung Himal peak in Nepal, the BBC reported.
The incident happened on Sunday in Manang district near the 7,126 metre peak, which lies on Nepal’s border with Tibet, the BBC said. Forecasts showed heavy snowfall around the mountain in recent days.
Bad weather has slowed rescue operations, with helicopters and ground teams unable to reach the site, the BBC reported.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur of Himalaya Holidays Trekking told the AFP news agency, as cited by the BBC, “Eight members of our expedition team and two more from another company have been reported missing.” According to the BBC, the missing climbers were local guides sent ahead of foreign clients to prepare the camp, manage the route and fix ropes on the mountain.
Nepal’s mountain districts have seen persistent rain and snow in recent days, creating treacherous conditions for the country’s climbing tourism industry, the BBC said. Climbing teams were forced to abandon Mount Manaslu earlier this week because of the growing threat of avalanches, the report added.
The BBC noted the latest deaths of Nepali climbers come less than two months after six people lost their lives on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja.
The report also placed the avalanche in the wider context of recent disasters on the Nepal-Tibet border. More than 6,000 people remained missing after a massive flood and landslide in August, the BBC said, and more than 1,400 people have been confirmed dead after a glacial collapse sent large volumes of water and debris down the Trishuli River valley.
The BBC is the sole source for the details in this report. It cited local operators and AFP for accounts of the missing climbers and described weather and rescue constraints at the site.
We will update this story when further information is released by Nepalese authorities or rescue teams.
Leave a comment