Around 900 hikers, guides, and support staff stranded by a powerful snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest over the weekend have been brought to safety, Chinese state media reported late Tuesday.
The storm hit the area on Saturday night, cutting off access to a campsite located at an altitude of over 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).
According to local authorities, about 580 hikers and more than 300 guides, yak herders, and other workers were trapped when the storm struck. Around 350 of them managed to descend by noon Monday, while the remaining groups were rescued by Tuesday.
Several hikers reportedly suffered from hypothermia. The official Xinhua News Agency said rescue teams reached about a dozen affected hikers with food, medicine, heating equipment, and oxygen supplies before escorting them to safety.
The scenic Mount Everest area has since been temporarily closed to visitors. The storm occurred during China’s weeklong National Day holiday, which ends Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Nepal, a South Korean climber died in a weekend storm near the summit of Mera Peak, a 6,476-meter (21,250-foot) Himalayan mountain located south of Everest, local authorities said.
Source:AP