Avalanche kills 15 Nepali workers preparing Himalayan mountain camp for climbers

KATHMANDU: At least 15 Nepali workers were killed when an avalanche buried a mountain camp they were preparing in central Nepal for foreign climbers, a rescue official said on Thursday, in the deadliest incident of the autumn climbing season ending this month.

The avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-meter (23,379-foot) Himlung Himal mountain in the northern Manang district over the weekend, where the Nepali workers were pitching tents and fixing ropes. One remains missing.

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

Eight bodies were recovered from under the snow on Thursday, while the other seven were retrieved earlier this week.

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

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He said chances of finding the one missing worker were dim and the rescue operation is likely to wind up.

The foreign climbers had not reached the site at the time of the avalanche.

Each year, thousands of visitors flock to Nepal to visit or climb its mountains, creating work for tens of thousands of people as guides, porters, and other staff, as well as in tourism-related jobs.

However, as climate change accelerates melting of glaciers and ice, the work is becoming increasingly perilous.