Fading hopes for 14 missing after Himlung avalanche
Rescuers bring two climbing guides down from the buried base camp as heavy snow hampers search
PC: NNMGA
The bodies of two Nepali climbing guides have been recovered from the Himlung Himal base camp and brought down to Chame, as rescuers warned that the chances of finding 14 missing kitchen workers alive were diminishing.
The bodies were recovered after a rescue team reached the avalanche site by helicopter. Rescuers identified the dead as Pasang Bhote and Chhebi Bhote, but the expedition organiser said it could not yet confirm their identities.
The bodies were wrapped in tarpaulin in photographs sent from the site, making identification difficult.
“We could not see the faces clearly enough to recognise them,” said Abhay Khanal, manager of Himalayan Holidays. “We cannot say with certainty that the deceased are our men.”
The company had earlier said that Chhebi Bhote had contacted it after the avalanche. Rescuers subsequently told the company that one of the bodies recovered was believed to be his.
The remaining 14 workers have not been accounted for.
One rescuer said the base camp had been buried under several feet of snow, making the search increasingly difficult.
“It is very unlikely that the missing people will be found alive,” he said.
The Himlung base camp is spread across a broad, relatively open area where climbers would normally have room to move clear of an avalanche. It has now been buried beneath heavy snow.
Heavy snowfall has also cut communications in the area, making it difficult to establish contact with expedition members sheltering in Phu village.
The rope-fixing team deployed last week has yet to reach the base camp. It had reached Koto, just beyond Chame, according to the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal.
Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, known as Mingma G, is leading an eight-member rescue team sent by the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association.
The other members of the team are IFMGA-certified mountain guides Pasang Kaji Sherpa, Pasang Rinzee Sherpa, Ashish Gurung, Tsering Pemba Sherpa, Bikram Karki, Dandu Sherpa and Pimba Tenjing Lama.
Mingma G, an IFMGA-certified guide, was involved in the recovery of bodies after the Broad Peak avalanche in Pakistan in July, which killed ten climbers, including Nirmal Purja, known as Nimsdai, and Kili Pemba Sherpa, known as Kilu.
The Himalayan Holidays expedition operator said it was sending more personnel and supplies to support the search.
Sixteen people — 14 kitchen workers and two climbing guides from Imagine Nepal and Himalayan Holidays — were reported missing.
