Ten Nepali climbers are missing after an avalanche slammed into a base camp near Himlung Himal on Sunday afternoon.
The mountainside, positioned on Nepal’s border with Tibet, had recently received heavy snowfall, raising avalanche risk ahead of a big expedition.
At the time of the slide, local guides were at a staging point close to the 7,126‑metre peak, preparing the route and fixing ropes for the foreign climbers.
Helicopters and ground teams have been unable to reach the site because of poor weather, making rescue operations extremely challenging.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur, owner of Himalaya Holidays Trekking, said eight members of his own team and two from another company had been reported missing, bringing the total to ten.
This tragedy follows a spate of incidents, including the death of six climbers on Pakistan’s Broad Peak last month and ongoing flooding along the Nepal‑Tibet border that has left more than six thousand people displaced.
Officials and international mountaineering bodies are calling for heightened safety protocols and better forecasting to prevent future losses in the Himalayas.
For more on this developing story, read the full BBC report.
