Mount Everest deaths: Australian man and three Tibetans killed by avalanche

An Australian man and three Tibetans have died in an avalanche on Mount Everest, Chinese state media said today.

The Australian Embassy confirmed the death of a 60-year-old from southern Australia in Tibet. It said consular officials in Beijing were attempting to contact the man's family to offer assistance.

State broadcaster CCTV said an "illegal foreign tourist group organised by a Tibetan tourist agency" entered an area of Mount Everest that is not approved for tourism on Sunday. It said the tourists encountered an avalanche later that day and one Australian and three local herders died.

It said 154 people stranded by the avalanche were rescued yesterday, 86 at the Everest base camp on the mountain's Chinese side.

AP