KATHMANDU – Search crews in Nepal resumed efforts Monday to locate around a dozen people believed to have been carried away by an avalanche that killed at least two others amid dangerous mountain conditions.
Ten people were rescued after the avalanche struck Mount Himlung on Sunday. The 7,126-meter (23,380-foot) mountain lies in north-central Nepal.
Those killed or still unaccounted for were all Nepali nationals. They had been staying at a base camp and preparing for the arrival of foreign climbers during Nepal’s autumn mountaineering season, which began earlier this month.
Helicopters transported the 10 survivors to safety. The bodies of the two victims were flown to Kathmandu on Monday before being taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Relatives and friends gathered at the hospital morgue but declined to speak with reporters.
Heavy rain over the weekend also triggered flooding and landslides in Manang district, where Mount Himlung is located, according to the district administration office.
The avalanche occurred as Nepal’s government warned of severe weather across the Himalayan country.
Nepal’s disaster management agency said 21 additional people died and five remained missing in separate incidents nationwide between Thursday and Sunday.
The country is still facing the aftermath of catastrophic flooding in August, when torrents swept through multiple villages, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving almost 6,000 others missing.
