Four bodies found after avalanche hits Himalayan climbing group

Updated 8 minutes ago.

Key points

• Forecasts indicated there was heavy snowfall around the 7, 126m (23, 380ft) peak in recent days.
• On Sunday, the first two bodies were discovered, with another two bodies discovered on Monday, the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association.
• The latest death of Nepalese climbers comes less than two months after six lost their lives on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including renowned British-Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja.
• Bibhuti Chand Thakur, of Himalaya Holidays Trekking, informed news agency AFP that at least eight members of his expedition team had been noted missing.
• "Unfortunately, after extensive search efforts under extremely difficult conditions, four bodies were recovered, while 12 cook staff remain missing at Himlung Base Camp."

Rescuers have recovered four bodies from the site of an avalanche that struck a climbing group camping in the Nepalese part of the Himalayas.

Meanwhile, a dozen individuals are still thought to be missing after a sheet of snow fell on the base camp of Himlung Himal peak on Manang district on Sunday morning.

In practice, the group of Nepalese nationals, including climbers and backing staff, had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the camp and fix ropes.

Forecasts indicated there was heavy snowfall around the 7, 126m (23, 380ft) peak in recent days. It lies on Nepal's border with Tibet.

Poor weather has hampered rescue efforts, with helicopters and rescue teams initially unable to reach the site.

In practice, a rescue team consisting of experienced mountaineers was rushed from the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, via helicopter.

On Sunday, the first two bodies were discovered, with another two bodies discovered on Monday, the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association. It sent out a rescue team, stated in a social media post.

Meanwhile, the group remarked the team ascended the mountain hoping to find survivors.

"The avalanche was exceptionally sizeable, with approximately 14 feet of snow covering the Base Camp area. Searching every section manually was extremely tough and dangerous due to the depth of snow, freezing temperatures, and unstable conditions."

Meanwhile, the group remarked it had temporarily paused operations due to the conditions, but will continue to monitor and "make every possible effort to recover the remaining bodies when it becomes safe to do so".

For context, the Nepalese team caught in the avalanche had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the camp, manage the route and fix ropes on the mountain.

Nepal's mountain districts have seen persistent rain and snow in recent days, creating treacherous conditions for the country's economically significant climbing tourism industry.

Climbers were forced to leave Mount Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world, earlier this week due to the rising threat of avalanches.

Notably, the latest death of Nepalese climbers comes less than two months after six lost their lives on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including renowned British-Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja.

It additionally comes as efforts to recover bodies continues on the Nepal-Tibet border, where more than 6, 000 residents are still missing after a massive flood and landslide in August.

More than 1, 400 individuals are confirmed to have died after a glacial collapse in the Himalayas sent vast quantities of water and debris careering down the Trishuli River valley, sweeping away settlements.

Dangerous weather events have additionally affected other parts of Asia previously week.

Extreme weather in the neighbouring Indian region of Uttar Pradesh has additionally killed more than 50 residents, authorities there remarked.

Meanwhile, a flood emergency disaster has been declared throughout Bangkok, Thailand as of heavy rainfall since Thursday, with individuals being called on to stay at home or move to higher floors.

Earlier this week, a deadly typhoon that battered Tokyo, triggering landslides in neighbouring prefectures that killed four individuals.

Typhoon Dujuan was the latest in a series of storms in the Pacific, created more intense by the "super El Niño", an area of warmer sea water that facilitates the formation of powerful storms.

For now, four bodies found after avalanche hits Himalayan climbing group remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.