Two bodies recovered from Himlung avalanche site, 14 missing
Identities of victims unknown. Rescuers are searching the area. A view of Himlung Himal from its base camp. Located in the Nar Phu region of Manang, Himlung is considered an important peak for experienced climbers seeking to gain further experience at altitudes above 6,000 metres. Courtesy of Imagine Nepal Trek & Expeditions
Two bodies have been recovered from the site of an avalanche that struck the Himlung Himal area in Manang district on Sunday morning, but the victims have not yet been identified. Fourteen people remain missing in the incident.
Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association (NNMGA), said a search and rescue team that travelled from Kathmandu to the Himlung area on Sunday recovered the bodies.
Mingma G Sherpa, international mountain guide and managing director of Imagine Nepal Trek & Expeditions, informed the association about the discovery, Gurung said.
“We’ve been informed that two bodies have been found, but we don’t yet know who they are,” Gurung said.
Guides based in Kathmandu were flown to the Himlung area by two helicopters to assist with the search and rescue operation, he said.
The NNMGA has deployed an eight-member search and rescue team.
The 14 people reported missing were Nepali Sherpas and support staff who had gone ahead of foreign clients to prepare the route and camps for the expedition, according to trekking officials. The foreign clients were due to arrive in five to six days.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur, founder of Himalayan Holidays Trekking, said the company initially received information that eight of the 22-member team could not be contacted. The number later rose to 14.
At about 9:40am on Sunday, a Sherpa in Himlung contacted the company’s Kathmandu office and asked for a rescue helicopter, saying eight team members went missing. Contact was lost again after a subsequent call, Thakur said.
Rescue efforts have since been hampered by bad weather. Private helicopters were kept on standby in Kathmandu and Pokhara, while authorities also discussed deploying a Nepali Army helicopter. Ram Krishna Lamichhane, director general of the Department of Tourism, said helicopters could not fly to the mountain because of the weather.
Two Nepali members of Imagine Nepal were also among those missing, according to the company. An additional team of experienced mountain guides was placed on standby at Kathmandu airport to join the rescue effort.
Himlung Himal, which rises to 7,126 metres in Manang’s Nar Phu region, is a popular peak among climbers.
Suraj Kunwar is a senior correspondent with over two decades experience covering Aviation, Tourism and Mountaineering. He received the IFJ Tolerance Award in 2005.
14.73°C Kathmandu
