New Delhi: Three Nepali climbers were killed after a massive avalanche swept down and buried them in a crevasse on Mount Everest on Wednesday, news agency ANI reported. According to the report, the three Sherpas were a part of the rope-fixing team to prepare the route for their clients. “Their bodies have been located. An avalanche around the Khumbu icefall area swept them off,” ANI quoted Lama Kaji Sherpa, President of Sagarmatha Pollution control committee, as saying.
According to reports, the incident took place around 9.30am when the team of 25 guides were climbing the Khumbu Icefall to prepare the route from Camp 2 to Everest summit.
“They were buried under the ice masses in the Khumbu Icefall,” said Norbu Sherpa, a long-time rescue specialist.
The accident on Wednesday was the first on Mount Everest during this year’s climbing season, when hundreds of foreign and Nepali climbers are expected flock to the mountain in a bid to scale the summit at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet).
According to Tourism Department official Yubaraj Khatiwada, earlier in the day, a search helicopter had been mobilized for the missing sherpas, who were later confirmed dead.
The passage through the Khumbu Icefall, the route that leads to Everest peak, is believed to be so dangerous that even experienced Sherpas refuse to climb it after sunrise. So, the icefall, a river of ice, is usually crossed at night or early morning before sunrise, with the use of headlamps.
Normally, Sherpas prefer 3am to 5am to cross this region, when the ice blocks and the hanging glaciers are stable and risk of avalanche is comparatively low.
Notably, Nepal, tucked between China and India, is home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest peaks, including Mount Everest.