KATHMANDU, Nepal, April 18 (UPI) -- At least 12 Sherpa guides were killed and three seriously wounded Friday in the single deadliest avalanche on Mount Everest.
Nearly a 100 Sherpas and climbers are now trapped above the avalanche site, which is above base camp but just below “Camp 2″. The avalanche which came crashing down the slopes, along a particularly hazardous route, swept away 25 people. Authorities have rescued eight people and are still looking for five missing Sherpas.
“Around 25 persons were swept away by the avalanche. We have rescued eight alive, and 12 bodies have been recovered so far,” said Dipendra Poudel of the trekking and mountaineering section under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Three injured Sherpas were airlifted from the Everest region to Kathmandu to receive medical treatment.
Five of the Sherpas who were killed were identified as residents of Khumbu region. Many grief stricken Sherpas from the same region gathered at base camp after news of the tragedy spread.
[The Himalayan Times]
