KATHMANDU: Rescuers were digging through ice and snow on a mountain in Nepal on Tuesday to recover the bodies of seven climbers who were killed by an avalanche a day earlier, officials said.
The avalanche pounded the base camp at Mount Yalung Ri, located at 4,900 meters, on Monday morning. Snowstorms prevented rescuers from reaching the site on the day.
Improving weather allowed a helicopter to reach the base camp Tuesday and rescuers were able to begin shifting through the snow and ice.
Dolkha district Police Chief Gyan Kumar Mahato said four climbers who were injured in the avalanche were rescued by the helicopter and flown to the capital, Kathmandu, for treatment.
Two French nationals were getting treated at the Era Hosptial in Kathmandu for their injuries.
Isabelle Solange Thaon, 54, said she lost her husband, identified as Christian Manfred, in the avalanche but was lucky to have survived with another French climber, Didier Armand.
“We were lucky because we were on the left,” Thaon said from her hospital bed. “And we leap (over the) rocks and we swim along and after we were in the snow and after someone came immediately (to help).”
“Unfortunately, Christian died ... It was not possible because of rocks hit his head,” she said, adding she was lucky because she was not covered by the snow piled by the avalanche.
“The other people were under the snow, they said they think it was six meters under snow so it was completely dead in front. It was not possible to help them.”
Also among those killed were two Nepali mountain guides, but the identity of the remaining four was still unclear.
At least three bodies were pulled out of the snow by Tuesday afternoon, the police official said. It was not clear when they would be brought out of the mountains.
Mount Yalung Ri is a 5,600-meter peak considered suitable for novice mountaineers.
