Seven dead after avalanche on Himalayan peak

Five foreign climbers and two local guides are among the dead

Five foreign climbers and two local guides have died in an avalanche in Nepal, officials say.

The incident occurred at a camp on Yalung Ri Himal mountain, which rises to 5,630 metres (18,470ft) in the Dolakha district, northeast of Kathmandu.

Five other people were injured at the base camp, which is located at an altitude of 4,900 metres (16,070ft), Armed Police Force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa said.

The nationalities and identities of the foreign climbers are yet to be confirmed.

Rescuers were reaching the site on foot on Monday.

Yalung Ri is located in the Rolwaling Valley of northeastern Nepal and climbers there encounter a mix of rock, ice and snow.

It comes after five German mountaineers died after being hit by an avalanche in South Tyrol, in northern Italy, rescuers said on Sunday.

Three victims – two men and a woman – had already been recovered dead on Saturday, while the bodies of two other missing people, a man and his 17-year-old daughter, were found on Sunday morning.

“They had been dragged to the lower part of the gully where the avalanche occurred,” said Alpine rescue spokesperson Federico Catania.

“Rescue teams are now returning to the valley, also considering the worsening weather conditions at high altitude.”

The mountaineers, all Germans, were hit by the avalanche at about 4pm on Saturday while climbing near the Cima Vertana, in the Ortles mountains, at an altitude of more than 3,500 metres (11,500ft).

It is unknown why the climbers were still on their way up at that relatively late hour, rescuers said.

According to initial information, the climbers were in three groups and were travelling independently of each other. Two men survived the accident and were taken by helicopter to a hospital in the nearby city of Bolzano.