At least seven people, including five foreigners, have been killed in eastern Nepal after an avalanche swept through a camp on Mount Yalung Ri, according to media reports.
The Kathmandu Post, citing local officials, reported on Tuesday that the avalanche hit the team of 15 people as they were ascending the 5,630-metre (18,471-foot) mountain of Yalung Ri, and that four members of the expedition remain remaining.
“The avalanche buried everyone on the slope,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato told the Kathmandu Post. “We got the information late, and the difficult weather delayed immediate response.”
Mahato said that three French climbers, one Canadian, one Italian and two Nepalis were killed in the incident.
Four Nepali climbers who were injured have been evacuated, while four others, also from Nepal, remain missing, the Kathmandu Post reported.
One of the injured climbers told the newspaper that the climbers had called for help but got no response for hours.
“We shouted and cried for help, but no one could reach us,” the unnamed climber said. “We were told that a helicopter would come after four hours, but by then, several of our friends were gone.”
Yalung Ri is located in the Rolwaling Valley of northeastern Nepal, and climbers there encounter a mix of rock, ice and snow.
Before Monday’s tragedy, the valley had experienced continuous snow and poor weather conditions for several days, according to the Kathmandu Post.
Mahato, the police officer, said helicopters could not be flown in the area due to heavy snowfall and clouds but an aircraft finally reached the area on Monday evening.
He added that rescue teams on foot have also been dispatched to the area, and that the search operation would resume on Tuesday morning.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, and welcomes hundreds of climbers and trekkers every year.
Autumn expeditions on the Himalayan mountains in October and November are less popular because of the shorter, colder days, snowy terrain and a narrow summit window compared with the busy spring season, which runs from April to May.
Last week, Cyclone Montha triggered heavy rain and snowfall across Nepal, leaving trekkers and tourists stranded on popular Himalayan trekking routes.
Separately, two Italian climbers have also gone missing while scaling a remote peak in western Nepal, tourism officials said on Monday.
