Avalanche hits climbers in the Himalayas: two dead, dozens missing in Nepal

Rescue teams have recovered two bodies from the site of an avalanche that struck a group of climbers camping in the Nepalese part of the Himalayas.

A large number of people are believed to still be missing after a snow layer fell on the base camp of Himlung Himal peak in the Manang district on Sunday morning.

The group of Nepalese nationals, including climbers and support staff, had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the camp and fix ropes.

Forecasts showed heavy snowfall around the 7,126-metre peak in recent days, which lies on Nepal’s border with Tibet.

Bad weather has hampered rescue efforts, with helicopters and rescue teams initially unable to reach the scene.

Bibhuti Chand Thakur, of Himalaya Holidays Trekking, told the AFP news agency that at least eight members of his expedition team had been reported missing. The exact number of climbers still unaccounted for remains unclear.

A rescue team of experienced climbers was urgently dispatched from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, by helicopter.

The effort is expected to continue on Monday due to heavy snow and bad weather, local media report.

The Nepalese team had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the camp, manage the itinerary and fix ropes on the mountain.

Nepal’s mountain districts have seen persistent rain and snow in recent days, creating difficult conditions for the country’s economically important climbing-tourism industry.

Climbers were forced off Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak, earlier this week due to the growing threat of avalanches.

The latest death of Nepalese climbers comes less than two months after six people lost their lives on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including the well-known British-Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja.

The event also comes as efforts continue to find bodies on the Nepal-Tibet border, where more than 6,000 people are still missing after a massive flood and landslide in August.

More than 1,400 people have been confirmed dead after a glacial collapse in the Himalayas sent large amounts of water and debris flowing down the Trishuli river valley, devastating settlements.

Extreme weather events have also hit other parts of Asia over the past week.

Extreme weather in the neighbouring Indian region of Uttar Pradesh has killed more than 50 people, officials there said.

Meanwhile, a flood emergency disaster has been declared across Bangkok due to heavy rainfall since Thursday, with people urged to stay home or move to higher floors.

Earlier this week, a deadly typhoon hit Tokyo, causing landslides in neighbouring prefectures that killed four people.

Typhoon Dujuan was the latest in a series of Pacific storms, made more intense by the “super El Niño”, a zone of warm sea water that facilitates the formation of powerful storms.