Two bodies recovered after avalanche hits Himalayan climbing group in Nepal
Around a dozen people are feared missing after an avalanche struck a climbing group’s base camp at Himlung Himal.
Rescuers have recovered two bodies after an avalanche struck a climbing group's base camp at Himlung Himal in Nepal's Manang district.
Around a dozen people are still feared missing after a large sheet of snow hit the camp on Sunday morning, reports BBC.
The group comprised Nepalese climbers and support staff who had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the base camp and fix ropes on the 7,126-metre peak, which lies near Nepal's border with Tibet.
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Heavy snowfall has been reported around the mountain in recent days, while poor weather has hampered rescue efforts, initially preventing helicopters and rescue teams from reaching the site.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur of Himalaya Holidays Trekking told AFP that at least eight members of his expedition team were missing. The exact number of people still unaccounted for remains unclear, according to the BBC.
A rescue team of experienced mountaineers was sent from Kathmandu by helicopter, but thick snow and bad weather were expected to delay further rescue efforts until Monday.
The Nepalese team had been deployed ahead of the foreign climbers to prepare the camp, manage the route and fix ropes on the mountain.
Difficult climbing conditions
Nepal's mountain districts have experienced persistent rain and snowfall in recent days, creating hazardous conditions for climbers and mountaineering teams.
Climbers were forced to leave Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest mountain, earlier this week amid a rising risk of avalanches, according to the BBC.
The incident comes less than two months after six climbers died on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including British-Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja
The latest avalanche is also unfolding amid severe weather across parts of Asia.
In neighbouring India, extreme weather in Uttar Pradesh has killed more than 50 people, officials said, according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, a flood emergency has been declared in Bangkok after heavy rainfall since Thursday, with residents urged to stay indoors or move to higher floors.
Earlier this week, a typhoon struck Tokyo, triggering landslides in neighbouring prefectures that killed four people.
The BBC reported that Typhoon Dujuan was the latest in a series of Pacific storms that have been intensified by the "super El Niño" weather phenomenon.
