Ten climbers missing after avalanche hits Himalayan base camp

At least 10 Nepalese climbers who were preparing to lead an expedition in the Himalayas are missing after an avalanche hit a base camp on Sunday morning.

The climb’s organisers said the local guides were at a staging point close to the Himlung Himal peak in Manang district when the avalanche struck.

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

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

Bibhuti Chand Thakur, of Himalaya Holidays Trekking, told news agency AFP: “Eight members of our expedition team and two more from another company have been reported missing.”

The Nepali team 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 important 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.

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

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

More than 1,400 people 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.

Extreme weather events have also affected other parts of Asia in the past week.

Extreme weather in the neighbouring Indian region of Uttar Pradesh has killed more than 50 people, officials there said.

Meanwhile, a flood emergency disaster has been declared across Bangkok because of heavy rainfall since Thursday, with people being urged 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 people.

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