Rescuers have recovered two bodies from the site of an avalanche that struck a climbing group camping in the Nepalese part of the Himalayas.
A sheet of snow fell on Sunday morning on the base camp of Himlung Himal in Manang district, which is located on the border with Tibet. Roughly a dozen people are still regarded as missing after the incident.
The group, composed of Nepalese nationals including climbers and support staff, had been deployed ahead of foreign teams to prepare the camp and fix ropes. Heavy snowfall in the days leading up to the event contributed to the dangerous conditions at the 7,126‑metre peak.
Poor weather hampered rescue operations. Helicopters and ground teams initially could not reach the area, and a rescue force of experienced mountaineers was flown in from Kathmandu by helicopter. Efforts to recover the missing are expected to continue through Monday, as thick snow and bad weather remain a challenge.
This avalanche follows a series of severe weather events across the region. Earlier this week, climbers on Mount Manaslu had to abandon the summit bid because of heightened avalanche risk. In less than two months, a similar incident took the lives of six climbers on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including famed mountaineer Nirmal Purja.
In the broader Himalayan context, more than 6,000 people are still missing after a massive flood and landslide in August, and over 1,400 confirmed deaths have occurred following a glacial collapse that sent debris down the Trishuli River valley.
Extreme weather has also affected neighboring parts of Asia. In Uttar Pradesh, India, floods have claimed over 50 lives; in Bangkok, authorities have declared a flood emergency due to heavy rainfall; and Tokyo has suffered landslides after Typhoon Dujuan, which was intensified by the “super El Niño” phenomenon in the Pacific.
