Rescue teams recovered two more bodies on Monday from the site of a deadly avalanche on Nepal’s Himlung Himal peak, taking the confirmed death toll to four, while 12 people remain missing, according to officials.
The avalanche struck the base camp of the 7,126-metre Himlung Himal peak on Sunday in the Nar Phu region of Nepal’s Manang district. The incident buried a tent that was sheltering climbers and support staff, leaving several workers and mountain guides missing.
The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA) said in a social media post that the two bodies recovered on Monday were identified as Birendra Gurung and Ghan Shyam Rai. The organization said the bodies of Chebi Bhote and Pasang Bhote had been recovered on Sunday.
The association added that its search and rescue teams remain deployed in the avalanche-hit area and are continuing efforts to locate those still missing.
According to The Kathmandu Post, NNMGA President Tul Singh Gurung said rescue personnel planned to continue the search operation on Monday, subject to favorable weather and mountain conditions.
“Four bodies have been recovered and identified. Twelve people are still missing, and search efforts are ongoing,” Gurung was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The report stated that a search team led by Mingma G. Sherpa of Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition was flown by helicopter from Chame to the Himlung Base Camp on Monday morning to assist in rescue operations.
The two bodies recovered on Sunday were transported from Chame Hospital to Kathmandu by air and later taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, the report added.
The avalanche occurred amid persistent rainfall and snowfall across Nepal’s mountainous districts. The adverse weather has also triggered landslides and flooding in several areas.
The latest tragedy comes as Nepal continues to recover from the devastating flash floods that struck the country in August. The disaster affected numerous villages, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and approximately 6,000 others missing.
Authorities and rescue teams are continuing their search efforts at the avalanche site, with operations dependent on evolving weather and terrain conditions in the high-altitude region.