Another tragic avalanche in Nepal: at least 4 dead and 12 missing due to an avalanche at the base of Himlung peak

The general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Rajendra Lama, told the EFE agency that two bodies were recovered on Sunday night and another two on Monday morning.

The avalanche hit the Himlung Peak base camp, 7,126 meters highduring Sunday morning, burying the tents under a deep layer of snow.

Mountaineer Mingma G Sherpa, who is leading the rescue operation, reported on Facebook that the slab avalanche hit the camp when 14 kitchen staff from two climbing teams and two climbing guides were there.

“The search efforts continue (…) We could have saved lives on Sunday, but due to bad weather, we only reached the accident site in the afternoon,” Sherpa said.

According to the mountaineer, eight mountain guides from the National Mountain Guide Association of Nepal are currently at the scene, along with members of other rescue teams, who began search operations early today.

The avalanche comes as Nepal continues to recover from a devastating glacial flood on August 26 that killed 1,453 people and left 5,285 missingaccording to the latest official figures.

Heavy rain since Thursday has also caused flooding and landslides in several parts of the country, killing at least 21 people, according to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.