15 Nepali Workers Killed in Himlung Avalanche Before Climbers Arrive

At least 15 Nepali expedition workers were killed when an avalanche buried the Himlung base camp in central Nepal.

The slide hit early Sunday at the base camp for the 7,126-metre (23,345-foot) Himlung peak, near the border with China, according to the most recent reporting Al Jazeera. The victims were Nepali staff preparing the mountain for later expeditions, pitching tents and fixing ropes for the route. No foreign climbers had reached the site yet.

Recovery has been slow and physically hard. Eleven rescuers, including experienced guides, dug through more than four metres (14 feet) of snow that had buried the tents. Tul Singh Gurung, president of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, said rescuers have so far recovered 15 bodies.

The toll grew over several days. The bodies of two mountain guides were recovered Sunday, two kitchen staff Monday, and three more bodies Tuesday. Rescuers recovered eight more bodies Thursday from the area of the avalanche. Those bodies were expected to be brought by helicopter to Kathmandu.

One person remained missing after the deaths of the 15 workers Times of India. That updates the earliest phase, when rescuers resumed a search for 12 missing people after the avalanche was first reported to have killed two Al Jazeera. An interim account had put the toll at four workers killed with 12 still missing after tents were buried at the base camp.

Severe weather was reported at the time of the first slide. Deep burial under dense, packed snow, combined with high altitude and weather, has made rescue work difficult. Helicopter lift to Kathmandu is the link for identification and handover, while ground teams work a small, snow-covered area where tents were flattened and buried.

The broader context here is about timing and exposure. On Himlung, as on other Himalayan peaks, Nepali guides, rope-fixers and support staff go in first to equip camps before clients arrive. Like an advance crew building a stage before performers arrive, they do essential work during a risky period. When a base camp is buried before the climbing party is present, losses fall on the advance team. It also means only those already adjusted to altitude and on site can respond in the first hours.

Looking at what this means for expedition management, the next steps are narrow. Finish the search for the one missing person. Complete recovery and transport in weather that has already interrupted work once. Account precisely for who was in camp, in what roles, and under which operator. Those steps will determine what families, companies and regulators can establish next about risk assessment, communications and support for workers sent to prepare high camps.