Deputy Superintendent of Police Megha Raj Kandel said that Temba Sherpa, 24, and Dawa Wanchu Sherpa, 28, of Tamku-5 in Sankhuwasabha district and Indian national Chanda Gayan, 35, were killed in the incident. Two other members of the expedition, Na Tashi Sherpa and Phurtemba Sherpa of Sankhuwasabha, survived the tragedy.

The avalanche struck at an altitude of 7,300 metres in a place named Yangla while the mountaineers were returning to the fourth camp, said police. The team was on their way to the fifth camp but compelled to return to the fourth owing to the adverse climate. The expedition team was from Seven Summits Treks, Kathmandu.

Five mountaineers, including three foreigners, were killed in similar avalanche on May 20 last year.