Ten mountain guides and expedition support staff are missing following an avalanche that struck a base camp near Nepal’s Himlung Himal peak on Sunday morning. Rescue operations have been severely hampered by persistent rain, heavy snowfall, and treacherous high-altitude weather conditions across the region.
Avalanche Buries Base Camp Tents in Manang District
The avalanche struck the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,380-foot) Himlung Himal peak in the Nar Phu area of Manang district early Sunday morning. According to the Armed Police Force, the wall of snow and debris buried a large tent that was sheltering nine climbers and 13 support staff.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Shailendra Thapa confirmed that human casualties are feared following the disaster. All of the missing individuals are Nepali nationals working as support staff or high-altitude guides for the autumn climbing season.
Expedition organizers reported that the missing personnel belong to Himalayan Holidays Nepal and Imagine Nepal Treks. The teams had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to establish camps, manage routes, and fix ropes along the mountain.
Stalled Rescue Efforts Amid Worsening Weather
Severe weather across Nepal’s mountain districts has blocked immediate rescue access. Helicopters and ground teams have been unable to reach the disaster site due to continuous rain, heavy snowfall, and thick cloud cover.
Renowned climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, known as Mingma G, coordinated expedition logistics from Samagaon after heavy snowfall disrupted climbing operations across the region. He stated that two members of his kitchen staff remained at the base camp despite earlier warnings.
I repeatedly asked them to leave the camp from the day before yesterday, but they wanted to remain there. They came down briefly and then went back to base camp. They were swept away by the avalanche on Sunday morning.
— Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, expedition organizer
Bibhuti Chand Thakur of Himalaya Holidays Trekking told news agencies that eight members of his expedition team and two workers from another company were unaccounted for following the strike.
Bureaucratic Hurdles Compound Regional Weather Crisis
Rescue operations face additional administrative obstacles alongside the severe meteorological conditions. Abiral Rai, an International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations professional stranded in Samagaon, noted that obtaining permission for rescue flights requires overcoming complex bureaucratic hurdles in the region.
Himlung Himal, which lies near Nepal’s border with Tibet, requires an additional permit for helicopter flights, adding to the difficulties of reaching the mountain. The Expedition Operators Association Nepal (EOAN) informed that staff from Himalayan Holidays Nepal and Imagine Nepal Treks lost contact after the avalanche buried tents at the base camp.
Climbers were forced to leave Mount Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world, earlier this week due to the rising threat of avalanches. Meanwhile, extreme weather further south in the neighbouring Indian region of Uttar Pradesh has killed more than 50 people, officials there said, as recovery efforts continue near the Nepal-Tibet border where more than 6,000 people are still missing.
Broader Impacts on Nepal’s Mountain Tourism Industry
The Himlung Himal disaster arrives during a punishing autumn season for Nepal’s mountaineering and trekking sectors. Persistent weather disruptions have created hazardous conditions for the country’s economically important climbing tourism industry.
Most climbers and support personnel from other expedition operators had already heeded weather warnings and descended to lower elevations before the Himlung Himal avalanche struck. However, high-altitude workers tasked with route preparation remained behind.
The incident comes less than two months after six climbers lost their lives on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja. Relief agencies and the Expedition Operators Association Nepal continue to gather updates from the site as weather conditions dictate the pace of ongoing rescue and recovery operations.