Nepal avalanche kills 15 Nepali workers

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Aavalanche buries base camp of 7,126m ​Himlung Himal mountain in northern Manang district

At least 15 Nepali workers were killed when an avalanche buried a mountain ​camp they were preparing in central Nepal for ‌foreign climbers, a rescue official said on Thursday, in the deadliest incident of the Autumn climbing season ending this month.

The ​avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-foot) ​Himlung Himal mountain in the northern Manang district ⁠over the weekend where the Nepali workers were ​pitching tents and fixing ropes. One remains missing.

Rescuers have ​so far recovered 15 bodies from the site, said Tul Singh Gurung, president of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA).

Eight bodies were recovered ​from under the snow on Thursday while the other ​seven were retrieved earlier this week.

“The bodies that were recovered today ‌are ⁠expected to be brought by a helicopter to Kathmandu,” Gurung told Reuters.

He said chances of finding the one missing worker were dim and the rescue operation ​is likely to ​wind up.

The ⁠foreign climbers had not reached the site at the time of the avalanche.

Each year, ​thousands of visitors flock to Nepal to ​visit ⁠or climb its mountains, creating work for tens of thousands of people as guides, porters and other staff, ⁠as ​well as in tourism-related jobs.

However, as ​climate change accelerates melting of glaciers and ice, the work is becoming ​increasingly perilous.

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