KATHMANDU, Nepal — Three American citizens are among at least seven people killed when an avalanche ripped through a camp on Nepalese mountain Yalung RiPolice in the South Asian country announced this on Monday.
Two Nepalese guides were also killed, as well as a Canadian and Italian national, Gyan Kumar Mahato, a deputy superintendent of local police, told NBC News. Four people were still missing and four others were injured, Mahato said.
The State Department said it was aware of media reports of U.S. citizens killed in Monday's avalanche but was still working to gather more information.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to provide consular assistance,” the spokesman said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families of all those affected.”
A group of five climbers and 10 Nepalese guides set out to climb Yalung Ri on Monday morning but were buried by an avalanche around 8:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Sunday ET), Mahato said.
“Due to bad weather, helicopters could not fly and rescue operations on land were not possible,” Mahato said, adding that several attempts were made throughout the day.
But he added that the helicopter eventually managed to reach the village of Na, located east of the mountain, and ground rescue teams were also deployed.
The rescue operation on the mountain, which reaches an altitude of 18,370 feet, will begin again Tuesday morning, he said.
Alan Arnett, a Colorado mountaineering expert who has summited Everest, told NBC News it will likely be a reconstruction operation.
“So now it's delayed at least 12 to 18 hours, which basically eliminates any chance of finding anyone to recover, to rescue. So this has become a recovery operation, and the No. 1 rule of recovery is that rescuers don't become victims,” Arnett said. “So they must proceed very carefully and very slowly, take care of the wounded first, evacuate them by helicopter when it is safe to do so and then, if possible, search for bodies,” he added.
The camp was located at an altitude of 16,070 feet, Armed Police Force spokesman Shailendra Thapa told Reuters.
The Nepal Army, armed police and regular police will help in the search, Mahato said.
Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 tallest mountains, including Everest.
Although spring is the most popular climbing season because the weather is favorable on the high peaks, hundreds of foreign climbers come to climb smaller peaks in the fall, between the rainy monsoon months and winter.
“Mountaineering is a sport of choice. No one is forcing anyone to force you to go. And that’s why the responsibility really falls on the individual,” said Arnett, the mountaineering expert. “Because oftentimes, if you get into trouble, it's not just you who gets in trouble, but you endanger the first responders and maybe even your teammates.”
