2 killed and 5 foreign climbers missing after avalanche in Nepal – National
The avalanche pummelled the base camp at Mount Yalung Ri, located at 4,900 metres above sea level, on Monday morning, according to The Associated Press. Rescuers said they do not expect to find survivors among the missing.
In this May 18, 2013 file photo released by mountain guide Adrian Ballinger of Alpenglow Expeditions, climbers make their way to the summit of Mount Everest, in the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas.
AP Photo/Alpenglow Expeditions, Adrian Ballinger, File
The bodies of two Nepalese guides have been recovered, and the remaining five are still being searched for. A Canadian, a German, a French national and two Italians are believed to be among them, according to a list posted by Nepalese authorities and viewed by Global News. Canadian officials have not yet confirmed that a Canadian citizen was part of the climb.
“The missing people may be buried under 10-15 feet,” Mingma Sherpa, head of Seven Summit Treks, who reached the scene on Tuesday morning, told BBC Nepali. “It will take time to search.”
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“Given the nature of the incident, it was not expected that anyone would survive,” Phurba Tenzing Sherpa, a mountaineer and operator of Dreamers Expeditions, said after reaching the site Tuesday morning. “But we only saw two bodies on the surface.”
The Dolkha district administration office stated that eight other climbers who were injured in the avalanche were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.
According to the Kathmandu Post, the group of 15 were planning to climb Dolma Khang peak, which has an elevation of 6,332 metres. Before that, as part of their acclimatization schedule, they were set to climb the 5,630-metre Yalung Ri and spend the night in Na village before beginning the trek.
“The avalanche buried everyone on the slope,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato told the Nepalese outlet.
The district police chief said that all of the climbers were part of a group that departed more than an hour before the avalanche occurred.
Snowstorms prevented rescuers from reaching the site the same day, but the weather cleared on Tuesday, and a helicopter landed with rescuers, authorities said.
“We got the information late, and the difficult weather delayed immediate response,” Mahato added.
A total of 48 teams, including the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force Nepal, were deployed for the rescue, the press release confirmed.
Isabelle Solange Thaon, 54, told The Associated Press that she lost her husband, 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 told the outlet from her hospital bed, adding that they leaped over the rocks and swam in the snow until they were rescued.
“Unfortunately, Christian died … because rocks hit his head,” she said.
One of the injured climbers, who spoke to the Kathmandu Post from Na village, said they had called for help but did not receive a response for hours.
“We shouted and cried for help, but no one could reach us,” he said. “We were told that a helicopter would come after four hours, but by then several of our friends were gone.”
He said the delay led to the unnecessary loss of life.
“Had the rescue arrived on time, more lives could have been saved. Four of our friends are out of contact.”
Global News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for confirmation that a Canadian is missing in the avalanche, as well as any further information about the incident.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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