Kathmandu, Sept 27. (dpa/GNA) – At least two people have died and 14 others are missing, after an avalanche struck the base camp of a popular peak in the Himalayas, an association of Nepali mountain guides said on Sunday.
Police and expedition organizers said there were as many as 24 people in the area at the time of disaster. Two bodies have been recovered from the area during the search, according to the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA), the only agency whose members are on the ground.
“There were a total of 14 kitchen staff members and two climbing guides from different companies who were missing. The two climbing guides have been found, but sadly, both were found deceased,” NNMGA wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.
The association’s president, Tul Singh Gurung, told dpa that more search and rescue workers were heading to the area for a search and rescue operation.
Inspector Binod Bohara, a police officer in the affected Manang district, said his office has received a list of at least 22 people who were at the base camp of Himlung Himal, a 7,126-metre peak near the border with Tibet, when the avalanche hit the area on Sunday morning.
Rishi Ram Bhandari, general secretary of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal, said the missing were all Nepali guides and high-altitude specialists, working for the ongoing autumn climbing season for the Kathmandu-based Imagine Nepal and Himalayan Holidays Nepal agencies.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur, president of Himalayan Holidays Nepal, said there were 22 members from his company, while Imagine Nepal had two. He said many of them are feared buried under the snow. “The search is already under way. So the chance of survival remains high because of fresh snow,” he told dpa, adding that he did not yet have a definitive number of missing or survivors, as the area is remote and remain cut off from communication.
Heavy rain and snowfall for past few days have disrupted roads and trekking routes across Nepal, prompting authorities to suspend trekking and climbing activities on various peaks.
The disruption follows deadly floods last month, which killed about 1,450 people and left more than 5,500 missing.
According to the Department of Tourism, a total of 579 climbers from 67 countries have obtained permits to climb various peaks including Manaslu and Makalu.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.
GNA