7 climbers killed after avalanche hits base camp in Himalayas

An avalanche struck a Himalayan base camp in Nepal on Monday, leaving at least seven climbers dead and four others missing, local officials said, after a cyclone produced heavy snowfall in the famed mountaineering region.

A group of five foreign climbers and 10 Nepali guides had reached the base camp of Yalung Ri peak when they were caught in the avalanche, according to Gyan Kumar Mahato, the chief of police in Dolakha district, where the peak is.

Five foreigners and two Nepalis were killed, authorities said. In addition to the four missing, another four in the group were injured.

The search for the missing climbers was hindered by poor weather conditions Monday that prevented helicopters from landing in the area, Mahato said. A team of rescuers was traveling to the area on foot and will start their search in earnest Tuesday morning, he said.

The climbers had reached Yalung Ri base camp, at an altitude of about 16,000 feet, and were adjusting to the altitude before attempting to summit the 20,774-foot Dolma Khang peak in the same district, Mahato said.

Nepali officials said that heavy snowfall and rain from Cyclone Montha last week was followed by sunnier weather Sunday, and they speculated that the fluctuation in temperature could have created conditions for the avalanche.

“We suspect the high snowfall could have led to the disaster, but we have not reached a conclusion,” said Himal Gautam, a spokesperson for Nepal’s Department of Tourism.

The snowfall stranded trekkers across the Himalayas, prompting Nepali authorities to launch rescue missions for hundreds of climbers and tourists, including 15 people who were trapped in the Mustang district.

Cyclone Montha formed over the Bay of Bengal early last week and quickly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, with wind speeds reaching 70 mph. As the storm moved into central Nepal last Friday, the government warned of heavy rainfall in several provinces, including Bagmati, where Yalung Ri is.

According to the US National Weather Service, one of the key warning signs for avalanches is heavy snowfall or rainfall within the previous 24 hours.

Rescuers in Nepal are mounting a separate effort to find two Italian climbers who went missing last week while attempting to summit Panbari mountain, west of Yalung Ri.

Despite recent political turmoil in Nepal, where deadly protests in September toppled the government and left official buildings in ruins, the autumn mountaineering season has drawn heavy interest this year. From September through the end of this month, Nepal’s tourism department has granted climbing permits to 1,450 climbers from 83 countries, the most in a decade.