Himlung avalanche leaves 15 workers dead and one missing
Rescuers have recovered 15 bodies from the base camp near the Chinese border. The fate of one missing worker remains unknown.
An avalanche struck the base camp of Himlung peak in central Nepal early Sunday, killing at least 15 Nepali expedition workers. The workers were preparing tents and ropes for later climbs; foreign climbers had not yet reached the site.
Rescuers recovered eight more bodies on Thursday, bringing the total recovered to 15, according to Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association. He said the bodies were expected to be flown by helicopter to Kathmandu.
One worker remained missing. Gurung said the chances of finding the worker were slim and the rescue operation was likely to end soon; the search had not formally concluded at the time of reporting.
Eleven rescuers, including experienced guides, were digging through more than four metres of snow that had buried tents at the camp. Himlung, which rises 7,126 metres, is a popular destination for climbers beginning to tackle peaks above 7,000 metres.
Nepal’s recent mountaineering disasters include an avalanche on Everest that killed 16 people in 2014. The following year, an earthquake killed 18 people on Everest.
