A landslide on Mount Himlung in north-central Nepal has taken at least four lives and left 12 missing, as rescue crews work through harsh conditions and flooding in the area.
Sunday saw a slide hit the 23,380-foot peak while people at a base camp made final preparations for foreign clients arriving for the autumn climbing season, which started this month. A separate rescue operation brought out another 10 people from the base camp.
The Avalanche Strikes
People were getting ready at a base camp for foreign clients who would come up the mountain during the autumn climbing season, which started this month, when an avalanche struck. The survivors were brought down by helicopters carrying the 10 rescued.
On Sunday, the bodies of two people who died were flown by air to Kathmandu airport and taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. The following day, rescuers recovered two more bodies, raising the confirmed death count to four.
Who Was Missing
The dead and those unaccounted for were all citizens of Nepal. They had gathered at base camp in preparation for foreign clients arriving to climb the mountain during the autumn climbing season, which began this month, when they were swept away.
The search for the remaining 12 people continues.
Flooding Sweeps the Region
The district administration office reported that heavy rainfall triggered flooding and landslides in the Manang district over the weekend. The mountain sits within that district.
Warnings of severe weather had come from the government throughout the Himalayan nation before the avalanche struck.
The Broader Toll
The disaster management agency of Nepal reported that 21 other people had died and five more were unaccounted for across various regions of the country between Thursday and Sunday.
The nation remains in recovery after flooding in August that swept away several villages, with more than 1,400 people confirmed dead and nearly 6,000 others still unaccounted for.
An Earlier Rescue
By early September, two survivors had been brought to safety, with both having spent 10 days trapped since the flooding began. A man was pulled from a 738-foot hydropower tunnel, while a woman was found alive inside a home in the town of Nuwakot.
What Happens Next
The search for the missing 12 continues. Rescuers face severe weather conditions, and the disaster management agency is tracking casualties across the nation.
Four deaths have been confirmed, with 12 people still unaccounted for. All of the avalanche’s victims were Nepali nationals who had been at the base camp.
Key Facts
- Avalanche confirmed four deaths, with 12 still missing
- 10 people rescued from Mount Himlung base camp
- Two bodies recovered Monday
- 21 other people killed, five missing elsewhere in Nepal
- More than 1,400 dead, nearly 6,000 missing from August flooding
- Rescue operation ongoing in severe weather
The search for the missing 12 continues.
See the video the story is built around at CBS News.
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