Nepal avalanche kills at least 15 expedition workers

Rescuers recovered eight more bodies on Thursday from the area of the avalanche that swept through mountain camp.

A Himalayan avalanche killed at least 15 expedition workers, as rescuers continued efforts to recover bodies from a mountain camp in central Nepal.

Rescuers recovered eight more bodies on Thursday from the area of the avalanche that swept through the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,345-foot) Himlung peak early on Sunday, in one of the worst mountain disasters in recent years.

Nepali workers were pitching tents and ‌‌fixing ropes for later expeditions on the mountain located near the Chinese border.

Rescuers have so far recovered 15 bodies from the site, said Tul Singh Gurung, president of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association.

“The bodies that were recovered today ⁠⁠are expected to be brought by a helicopter to Kathmandu,” Gurung told Reuters.

He said chances of finding the one missing worker ⁠⁠were slim and the rescue operation is likely to wind up. The foreign climbers ⁠⁠had not reached the site ⁠⁠at the time of the avalanche.

A team of eleven rescuers, including experienced guides, were at the site, digging through more than four metres (14 feet) of snow which had buried tents at the base camp.

The bodies of two mountain guides were recovered on Sunday, and those of two kitchen staff were pulled out on Monday, followed by another three bodies on Tuesday.

Nepal’s worst mountaineering disasters in recent years occurred in 2014, when an avalanche killed 16 people on Everest, and in 2015, when an earthquake killed 18 people, also on Everest.

Authorities are still searching for bodies from devastating floods sparked by a mountain glacial collapse on 26 August that killed more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 missing.

Heavy rain since Thursday has triggered more floods and landslides, killing at least 21 people, according to the national disaster agency.

Home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks, Nepal’s economy relies heavily on mountaineering and trekking tourism.

Himlung, where Sunday’s avalanche occurred, is a popular destination for mountaineers looking to begin climbing 7,000-metre peaks.