Himlung Himal Avalanche: 12 Nepalese Workers Missing as Rescue Operation Begins
A 14-member rescue team has reached Himlung Himal base camp to search for 12 Nepalese workers and guides missing after an avalanche buried a tent. Bad weather is complicating the operation.
A 14-member rescue team has reached the base camp of Himlung Himal in Nepal’s Manang district to search for 12 Nepalese workers and guides who went missing after an avalanche. The rescue operation began on Monday after the team was flown by helicopter to the mountain.
The avalanche struck the base camp of the 7,126-metre Himlung Himal peak in the Nar Phu area, burying a tent where nine climbers and 13 support staff were sheltering. Officials said difficult weather and dangerous mountain conditions are making the search challenging.
The rescue team is being led by Mingma G Sherpa, an international mountain guide and operator of Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition. The team travelled from Kathmandu on Sunday, stayed overnight in Chame and reached the base camp by helicopter on Monday morning.
Experienced high-altitude guides are searching areas where the missing workers are believed to be located while assessing the safety of the site. Two people who died in the avalanche are also being transported from Chame Hospital to Kathmandu.
More than two dozen Nepalese workers and guides had travelled to Himlung around two weeks earlier to prepare the climbing route and base camp ahead of the season.
The incident comes amid difficult weather across Nepal's mountain districts, where persistent rain and snowfall have increased risks for climbers. Rescue teams continue to search for the 12 missing workers as conditions remain hazardous.
