Human remains have been found near the Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest, likely exposed due to melting of ice and snow layer, climbers at base camp said Thursday, as hundreds waited to begin summit rotations.

Abiral Rai, an IFMGA-certified mountain guide at Everest Base Camp, said he went early Thursday to a site at about 5,300 metres where a small crowd had gathered.

“When I reached there, I found out that remains of human body had just been discovered,” Rai told Everest Chronicle.

Rai, along with aspiring guide Sonam Tshering Lama, climbed a few metres above the exposed body to check for additional remains.

“There are teeth and bone fragments strewn all over here,” Sonam said in a video recorded by Rai. “These are human remains — only the torso is visible above the surface.”

Rai said they planned to inform local authorities, and Sonam stressed that the remains should be handled promptly.

Human remains surfaced in the circled area on Thursday on the Khumbu Glacier below Mount Everest.

Hundreds of climbers and support staff are currently stationed at Everest Base Camp, undertaking acclimatisation rotations ahead of summit attempts for the spring climbing season.

Several people examined the remains in an attempt to identify them, but so far the identify remains unknown.

The body could belong to one of three guides who went missing in an avalanche in 2014, when a large serac collapse triggered an avalanche that swept away 16 people.

Climbers and experts say such discoveries are becoming more frequent as rising temperatures accelerate glacial melt, exposing bodies long buried beneath the ice.

In 2017, a climber’s hand surfaced near Camp I, and another body appeared on the Khumbu Glacier the same year. Trained Nepali climbers were deployed to retrieve the remains.

According to the Himalayan Database, 229 climbers have died on Everest’s Nepal side, while 110 have died on the mountain’s northern (Tibet) side. Many on the Nepal side remain unrecovered, while bodies on the Tibetan side have more often been removed.

The Khumbu Icefall — one of the mountain’s most dangerous sections — has seen an increasing number of bodies exposed in recent years, mountaineers say. Many are located above the so-called “death zone”.

Recovering bodies at high altitude is costly and hazardous, often requiring specialised teams and favourable weather conditions.

Some bodies have historically served as grim markers for climbers. One such landmark, known as “Green Boots,” marked a cave near the summit route at about 8,500 metres.

Scientists warn that glacial retreat in the Everest region is accelerating. A 2023 report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) says glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region could lose up to 80 percent of their volume by the end of the century. There are no specific studies on the Khumbu Icefall, but climbers report drastic changes in the mountain’s ice.

Mountaineer Dorjee Gyaljen Sherpa said conditions in the icefall have visibly changed, and delays in opening the route are also due to shifting seracs.

“A knee-deep stream now runs along parts of the Khumbu Icefall and above. There’s no need to break ice anymore — water is readily available even at Camp I,” he said.

He said the changes are evident without scientific measurement.

“Ice melt on Everest now begins rapidly around the second week of May. It has accelerated due to rising heat. You definitely notice the change if you are on the mountain,” Sherpa said.

Delays in opening the route are expected to affect climbers’ schedules this season, with growing concern over access through the Khumbu Icefall towards Camp II.

“Nobody can say exactly when the Icefall Doctors will be able to open the route through the Khumbu Icefall. We hope it will be soon,” Rai said.

Himal Gautam, director at the Department of Tourism, said a large, unstable serac near Camp I had hampered progress.

The government has issued 401 climbing permits for Everest as of Thursday. Nepal has raised the climbing fee to $15,000 from $11,000 this year. With China restricting access from its side, Nepal has seen a significant number of climbers attempting Everest.

“We had reached the Yellow Band by this time last year,” said Ashok Lama, who led last year’s rope-fixing team above Camp II. “So, there is a delay of about a week.”

Specialist teams known as “Icefall Doctors” typically establish the route through the Khumbu Icefall by around April 10.