Mount Everest rescue: Race against time to save 200 hikers stuck in snowstorm
Some 350 others have been led to safety by rescuers
Over 200 hikers were stranded at Mount Everest, trapped by heavy snow after a blizzard, as rescuers raced against time to reach them.
Some 350 others have been led to safety by rescuers, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, and rescuers were in contact with another 200.
The hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 4,900m (16,000ft), according to an earlier report from Jimu News, a Chinese online site. Mount Everest is about 8,850m (29,000ft) tall.
Hundreds of rescuers headed up the mountain Sunday to clear paths so that trapped people could come down, the Jimu report said.
Mount Everest, known as Mount Qomolangma in Chinese, straddles the border between China and Nepal, where recent heavy rains have left more than 40 people dead.
Climbers attempt to scale the world's tallest peak from base camps in both countries. The base camp for climbers is separate from the tourist camp where hikers were trapped by the snowfall.
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More than 200 people stranded in blizzard on Mount Everest
More than 200 hikers are stranded by a blizzard on the Tibetan slopes of Mount Everest.
Some 350 others have been led to safety by rescuers, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, and rescuers were in contact with another 200.
The hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet), according to an earlier report from Jimu News, a Chinese online site. Mount Everest is about 8,850 meters (29,000 feet) tall.
Snowstorm trapped nearly 1,000 trekkers on Mount Everest
Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet have been rescued and relocated safely, Chinese state media reported, as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummelled the Himalayas.
The snowstorm left almost 1,000 trekkers trapped on the mountain, according to Chinese state media.
Read more:
Hundreds rescued after snowstorm traps nearly 1,000 trekkers on Mount Everest
'Hypothermia was a real risk': Rescued trekker shares what she saw
A trekker, Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-member trekking team that safely returned to Qudang, said: “It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk.”
“The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly,” she told Reuters.
'It was snowing too hard'
Another trekker, Eric Wen, who survived the blizzard, said they faced continuous snowfall and they decided to head back on Saturday night from their fifth and final campsite.
“It was raining and snowing every day, and we did not see Everest at all,” said Mr Wen.
“We only had a few tents. More than 10 of us were in the large tent and hardly slept. It was snowing too hard.”
Mr Wen said his group had to clear the snow every 10 minutes. “Otherwise our tents would have collapsed,” he said.
Blizzard comes amid floods
The blizzard comes as the region faces extreme weather and neighbouring Nepal has been battered by heavy rains, which caused flash floods and landslides that have killed 47 people.
Thirty-five people died in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district bordering India. Nine people were reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in the country.
In China, about 150,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes due to destruction caused by Typhoon Matmo.
Photos: Villagers with their oxen and horses ascend mountain during rescue efforts
Hundreds of people arrived at remote Karma Valley this week
Visitors to the remote valley of Karma, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, were in the hundreds this week, taking advantage of an eight-day National Day holiday in China.
The valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region. Unlike the peak's arid north face, it boasts lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests, fed by meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier at the foot of the world's highest mountain.
It was unclear if trekkers near the north face had been affected or not.
The north face, due to its easy access by paved road, regularly draws large numbers of tourists. October is a peak season, when skies usually clear at the end of the Indian monsoon.
Ticket sales and entry to the entire Everest Scenic Area were suspended from late Saturday. To the south of Tibet in Nepal, heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges and killed at least 47 people since Friday.
Heavy rains cause flooding in Nepal amid blizzard at Mount Everest
The same weather system that caused blizzard and trapped hikers also caused heavy rainfall in Nepal which swept away villages and killed dozens of people.
Hundreds rescued after snowstorm traps nearly 1,000 trekkers on Mount Everest
Rescuers in India search for missing after landslides
Amid the blizzard and floods in Nepal, neighbouring India is also suffering from extreme weather. Rescuers were scouring the northeastern tea-growing hill district of Darjeeling on Monday for those reported missing a day after landslides triggered by heavy downpours killed at least 24 people, officials said.
Teams of Indian army personnel and members of the disaster response force were searching for people who are feared trapped under debris, said Udayan Guha, West Bengal state development minister.
Downpours and road damage hampered efforts to reach several affected villages, officials said. Television news showed rescue workers using earth movers to clear the debris.
Landslides triggered by intense rains destroyed homes and infrastructure and left hundreds of tourists stranded in Darjeeling over the weekend. Rainfall also caused two iron bridges to collapse, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on X.
India's weather department has forecast heavy rainfall in the region to last until Tuesday.
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