At least 10 people are missing after an avalanche struck the base camp of Himlung Himal in western Nepal, near the Tibetan border, expedition organisers said on Sunday.
Expedition organiser Mingma Gyalje Sherpa said two members of his kitchen staff were among those missing. “The avalanche hit on Sunday morning,” he said.
According to Sherpa, expedition and rope-fixing teams had already moved away from the mountain slopes after a weather warning was issued last week. However, some people remained behind despite the warning.
The area had received heavy snowfall for several days, prompting climbers to abandon their plans for the autumn ascent. The people reported missing in Sunday’s avalanche are associated with different expedition companies.
Himlung Himal, which rises to 7,126 metres in Manang district, is a popular destination for climbers looking to gain experience at high altitude. Access to the area is difficult, with helicopter operations requiring an additional permit.
The avalanche occurred as a weather system over the Bay of Bengal brought heavy snowfall to Nepal’s mountain regions and persistent rain to the country’s hills and plains. Several parts of Nepal have been affected by the deteriorating weather since Friday, disrupting road traffic and forcing authorities to close sections of several routes.
Tourism authorities have advised trekkers and climbers to suspend their activities as conditions worsen. The Department of Tourism has also issued an alert asking people to put tourism-related activities on hold.
The latest disruption comes after last month’s devastating floods in Rasuwa, which killed more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 missing. The floods swept away settlements along the Trishuli River and dealt another setback to Nepal’s tourism industry.
Continued rain and snowfall have since disrupted several trekking routes and led to the cancellation or suspension of major expeditions on Manaslu and Dhaulagiri.
The latest avalanche also comes weeks after three of Nepal’s prominent high-altitude guides and climbers were killed in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.
The remains of Kili Pemba Sherpa, also known as Kilu, along with Gyalu Sherpa and Nima Sherpa, were brought back to Nepal in August and returned to their grieving families. The three had arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha.
They were among 10 climbers killed when an avalanche struck at around 9:30 am on July 30 as the group was climbing between Camp 2 and Camp 3 at an altitude of about 6,600 metres on the 8,051-metre Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. Broad Peak is the world’s 12th-highest mountain.
