Everest hikers guided to safety after being stranded by blizzard

A complete of 580 hikers who have been trapped by extreme climate close to Mount Everest have been guided to security in Tibet, in keeping with Chinese language state media.

The trekkers arrived within the small township of Qudang and surrounding areas, together with 300 native guides, yak handlers and different assist employees, CCTV reported on Tuesday.

A last group of round 10 hikers, accompanied by rescue employees, is but to succeed in Qudang however has made it to a rendezvous level, which has heating gear, oxygen and different emergency provides.

The vacationers turned stranded at an altitude of greater than 4,900m (16,000ft) after heavy snowfall blocked their route up Everest’s japanese slopes over the weekend.

The blizzard struck throughout China’s eight-day Golden Week vacation, a peak season for native tourism.

October normally gives clear skies and pleasant temperatures, making it one of many favoured months to hike within the Mount Everest space.

A whole lot of hikers made their solution to the Karma Valley mountain climbing path, a lesser-known however scenic path to the bottom of Everest – which additionally presents a view of the world’s highest peak.

The heavy snowfall started on Friday night, intensifying over the weekend, catching mountain guides off guard.

One trekker, who had visited the Himalayas greater than a dozen occasions, informed the BBC he had “by no means skilled climate like this”.

Dong Shuchang, 27, stated that a number of individuals in his group of 20 confirmed indicators of hypothermia.

Chen Geshuang, who was a part of Mr Dong’s mountain climbing group, stated the snow was a few metre deep when the group began their retreat on Sunday.

“All of us are skilled hikers,” Ms Chen stated. “However this blizzard was nonetheless extraordinarily tough to cope with. I used to be so fortunate to get out.”

Police, firefighters and a whole lot of native Tibetan volunteers have been mobilised for the rescue effort.

One other girl informed the BBC that her husband, who had been caught within the storm, barely slept in his tent as a result of he was afraid of being buried within the snow.

Eric Wen informed Reuters that three individuals in his group suffered from hypothermia despite the fact that they have been adequately dressed.

They hardly slept as a result of it was snowing too laborious and his group needed to clear the snow each 10 minutes.

“In any other case our tents would have collapsed,” he added.

In a separate mountainous area in western China, Qinghai province, one hiker died of hypothermia and altitude illness and 137 others have been evacuated, CCTV stated.

Neighbouring Nepal, to the south of Tibet, has additionally been battered by torrential rains, triggering extreme flooding and landslides which have killed greater than 50 individuals.