At least 10 Nepali climbers have been declared missing after an avalanche struck a Himalayan base camp on Sunday morning.
The organisers said the local guides were at a staging camp close to Himlung Himal peak in Manang district when the incident occurred.
The 7,126-metre (23,380ft) mountain lies on Nepal’s border with Tibet and had seen heavy snowfall in recent days ahead of the avalanche.
According to Himalaya Holidays Trekking, eight members of its expedition team and two others from another company are unaccounted for.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur of the company told AFP that poor weather has hampered rescue operations, with helicopters and rescue teams unable to reach the site.
The Nepali team had been deployed ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the camp, set the route and fix ropes on the mountain.
Nepal’s mountain regions have experienced persistent rain and snow in recent days, creating dangerous conditions. Climbers were forced to abandon expeditions on Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak, earlier in the week due to avalanche risk.
The country, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks, has issued more than 500 permits for the autumn climbing season.
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