An avalanche at a base camp in eastern Nepal left at least seven dead and five climbers rescued, a local official told AFP on Monday.
The snow avalanche caught a group of 12 people off guard on Monday morning at the top of Yalung Ri, at an altitude of 5,630 meters, stated Gyan Kumar Mahato, a senior police official in Dolakha district.
Of the seven deceased, two are Nepalese and one is a foreigner, Mahato indicated, citing local sources. He did not specify the nationality of the deceased foreigner or the missing individuals.
Five trapped individuals found alive
Rescuers conducting relief efforts in the Nepalese Himalayas successfully rescued five climbers who had been trapped in the snow on Tuesday.
"Five injured climbers were airlifted to Kathmandu on Tuesday morning. They are doing well and in stable condition," Mingma Sherpa, president of Seven Summit Treks, the company leading the rescue operations in Dolakha district where the avalanche occurred, told EFE.
According to Mingma Sherpa, the rescued individuals include two French citizens and two Nepalese natives who were trapped while attempting to climb the mountain.
The avalanche occurred on Monday at 9:00 a.m. (3:15 GMT) as a team was ascending Yalung Ri.
Regarding the seven deceased, Sherpa mentioned that five bodies remain buried under the snow at a depth of about 15 feet (4.5 meters), while two are on the surface.
An anonymous police source from Dolakha detailed to EFE on Tuesday that among the deceased are two Italians, two Nepalese, a Canadian, a German, and a French citizen.
Initially, local authorities had reported the death of three American citizens, which has now been ruled out.
In the past two weeks, Nepal has experienced severe weather with heavy rains in the southern plains and snowstorms in the north, leading to several missing hikers in different parts of the country.
The Himalayas, home to eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including Everest, attract hundreds of climbers and trekkers each year, although autumn expeditions are typically less popular due to inclement weather and heavy snowfall.
Over a thousand hikers have been rescued since the snowstorms began.