At least 15 expedition workers have been killed after an avalanche swept through the base camp of 7,126-metre (23,345-foot) Himlung Peak in central Nepal early on Sunday.
Rescuers recovered eight more bodies on Thursday as efforts continued at the site near the Chinese border, in one of Nepal’s worst mountain disasters in recent years, reports Al Jazeera.
The victims were Nepali workers who were pitching tents and fixing ropes for later expeditions on Himlung Peak, a popular destination for mountaineers preparing to climb 7,000-metre peaks. No foreign climbers had reached the base camp when the avalanche struck.
Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, confirmed that 15 bodies had been retrieved from the site so far.
“The bodies that were recovered today are expected to be brought by a helicopter to Kathmandu,” Gurung told Reuters.
He said chances of finding the one remaining missing worker were slim and that the rescue operation was likely to wind up.
An 11-member rescue team, including experienced guides, has been digging through more than four metres (14 feet) of snow that buried tents at the base camp.
Before Thursday’s discovery, rescuers had recovered the bodies of two mountain guides on Sunday, two kitchen staff on Monday and another three people on Tuesday.
The tragedy comes amid widespread severe weather across Nepal, whose economy relies heavily on mountaineering and trekking tourism. The country is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks.
Authorities are also searching for bodies following a mountain glacial collapse on 26 August that triggered devastating floods, killing more than 1,400 people and leaving more than 5,000 missing.
Heavy rain since Thursday has also caused further floods and landslides, killing at least 21 people, according to the national disaster agency.
Sunday’s death toll approaches some of Nepal’s worst mountaineering disasters in recent years. An avalanche on Everest in 2014 killed 16 people, while an earthquake on Everest in 2015 killed 18.
