Seven climbers initially were reported dead, four missing and four injured after an avalanche struck a Himalayan base camp in western Nepal on Monday morning. File photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The bodies of five dead climbers were recovered on Tuesday, with seven missing after an avalanche struck a Himalayan base camp in western Nepal on Monday morning.
The avalanche killed at least seven and injured at least five climbers, who have been flown to Kathmandu for medical treatment, officials said.
The International Federation of Mountain Guides Association deployed a four-member search-and-rescue team on Wednesday to help find missing climbers and recover more bodies, The Himalayan Times reported.
“Equipped with world-class search-and-rescue technology, including a RECCO detector, the team is well-prepared to enhance the efficiency nd accuracy of the recovery operation in the challenging alpine terrain,” NNGA officials said.
A RECCO detector is an active system that sends out signals to locate passive reflectors carried by climbers and find them if something goes wrong.
The newly deployed team reached the Yalung Ri base camp during the morning hours to continue the search for the missing climbers who were buried by Monday’s avalanche.
The new rescue team adds to the 50-member joint team already deployed by the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force to help with the recovery attempt.
Two of the bodies recovered Tuesday were identified as Paolo Cocco of Italy and Christian Andre Manfredi of France, who were found by local rescuers.
Their remains were airlifted to Kathmandu on Wednesday for further examination.
The Italian Consulate in nearby Kolkata, India, said the bodies of Italian climbers Alessandro Caputo and Stefano Farronato also have been recovered, while seven other Italian climbers remain missing.
Others who have been declared dead but whose bodies are yet to be recovered include Marco Di Marcello and Markus Kirchler of Italy, Jakob Schreiber of Germany and Nepali guides Mere Karki and Padam Tamang.
The five injured climbers who have been rescued and flown for treatment in Kathmandu are Sun Bahadur Gurung, Nima Gyalzan Sherpa and Lakpa Tamang of Nepal, and Isabelle Solange Thaon and Didier Arman Berton of France.
The avalanche occurred at 9 a.m. local time Monday after a cyclone produced heavy snowfall in the mountainous region, the BBC reported.
Fifteen people were caught in the avalanche at the base camp of Yalung Ri peak at 16,000 feet, Gyan Kumar Mahato, the chief of police in Dolakha district, said in a report by The New York Times.
The climbers were adjusting to the altitude at Yalung Ri base camp before plans to hike nearby Dolma Khang peak, which is at an elevation of 20,774 feet in the Rolwaling Valley section of the Himalayas.
Among those killed were three citizens from France, one from Canada and one from Italy.
Among 10 guides, two were killed, four were missing, and four were injured. The injured guides returned to the base camp.
“The avalanche buried everyone on the slope,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato told The Kathmandu Post. “We got the information late, and the difficult weather delayed immediate response.”
Searchers were hampered Monday by poor weather conditions, and rescuers traveling on foot were expected to reach the area on Tuesday morning.
“Although there were several rescue attempts throughout the day, the operations could not proceed because helicopters were unable to reach the site,” Mahato said. “A helicopter finally reached Na village on Monday evening, and we have also deployed rescue teams on foot.”
“We shouted and cried for help, but no one could reach us,” one of the injured climbers told The Kathmandu Post.
“We were told that a helicopter would come after 4 hours, but by then several of our friends were gone. Had the rescue arrived on time, more lives could have been saved. Four of our friends are out of contact.”
After heavy snowfall and rain from Cyclone Montha last week, the area had nice weather on Sunday, but wind speeds had reached 70 mph.
Officials said a fluctuation in temperature could have created avalanche conditions.
“We suspect the high snowfall could have led to the disaster, but we have not reached a conclusion,” Himal Gautam, a spokesman for Nepal’s Department of Tourism, said.
Nepal’s tourism department granted climbing permits to 1,450 climbers from 83 countries, the most in a decade, from September through the end of this month.
Eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, are in Nepal.
