American climbers among 7 killed in avalanche on Nepal mountain

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Three American citizens were among seven people who were killed when an avalanche swept through a camp on Nepal’s Mount Yalung Ri, police in the south Asian country said Monday.

Two Nepali guides were also killed along with a Canadian and an Italian citizen, Gyan Kumar Mahato, a deputy superintendent with Nepal Police, told NBC News. Four people are missing, and four others were injured in the incident, Mahato said.

The group of five climbers and 10 Nepali guides set out to climb Yalung Ri on Monday morning, he said. But all of the team were buried by an avalanche at around 8:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m Sunday ET), he added.

“Because of bad weather helicopters couldn’t fly and a land based rescue was impossible,” Mahato said, adding that several attempts had been made during the day.

But he added that a helicopter had eventually managed to reach Na Village which sits to the east of the mountain and land-based rescue teams had also been deployed.

The rescue operation on the mountain which peaks at 18,370-feet would begin again on Tuesday morning, he said.

The camp was located at an altitude of 16,070 feet, Armed Police Force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa told Reuters.

Nepal’s army, Armed Police Force and regular police would help with the search, Mahato said.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest.

While spring is the most popular climbing season, as weather is favorable on tall peaks, hundreds of foreign climbers come to climb smaller peaks during the autumn between the rainy monsoon months and winter.