Three American climbers are said to have died after an avalanche slammed into their base camp in the Himalayas.
Seven people died in total, including one Canadian, one Italian, and two Nepali nationals, local media reported.
Police said four other climbers had gone missing on Yalung Ri Himal mountain, which rises to 5,630 meters (18,470 feet) in the Dolakha district northeast of Kathmandu.
Four injured climbers were evacuated to a nearby village and a search for the missing people was continuing, police official Gyan Kumar Mahato told The Kathmandu Post.
Meanwhile Armed Police Force spokesman Shailendra Thapa said five had been hurt at the base camp, located at an altitude of 4,900 meters (16,070 feet).
‘We have also dispatched ground search-and-rescue teams from the army and police and are awaiting [developments].’
The official said that a team of 15, made up of foreign climbers and Nepali guides, got caught up in the avalanche at around 9am local time Monday as they were heading towards Yalung Ri.
A team of 15 got caught up in the avalanche at around 9am local time Monday, officials said. File image shows a peak on the Nepal-Tibet border
The peak is located in the Rolwaling Valley of northeastern Nepal and climbers there encounter a mix of rock, ice and snow.
Security agencies, including the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force, have been mobilized for search and rescue operations.
A helicopter was dispatched but could not reach the site due to adverse weather conditions, police said.
