Seven killed as avalanche hits Nepal's Yalung Ri base camp

An avalanche struck the base camp of Mount Yalung Ri in Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley on Monday morning, killing seven people and leaving others injured and missing, local officials said. Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato of the Dolakha District Police Office said the fatalities included three U.S. citizens, one Canadian, one Italian and two Nepali nationals. He said four people were injured and four were missing after the incident.

The avalanche hit at about 9 a.m. local time as a mixed team of foreign climbers and Nepali guides, roughly 15 people in all, were at the Yalung Ri base camp preparing to climb the nearby Dolma Khang peak, Mahato said. Base camp is located at about 4,900 meters, while Yalung Ri rises to roughly 5,630 meters. Several accounts said some victims were preparing for a higher ascent when the slide occurred.

Search and rescue teams from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were deployed to the site, but officials said operations were hampered by deteriorating weather and by flight restrictions in the Rolwaling region, which requires special administrative clearance for helicopter movements. Armed Police Force spokesperson...