emergencies
Avalanche accident in the Himalayas: at least 26 climbers dead
View from the plane of the Himalayas with Mount Everest. photo
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
It happened on the descent: A group of mountaineers were taking refuge in a crevasse when an avalanche went off.
At least 26 climbers died in an avalanche accident in the Himalayas. Three more are still missing, an employee of the Indian civil protection agency told the German Press Agency on Friday. Salvage operations on Draupadi Ka Danda II were still ongoing and were hampered by bad weather.
The avalanche hit the mountaineering team on Tuesday at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters while they were descending. Team leader Nayab Subedar Anil Kumar told local NDTV that most of his team’s 42 climbers took refuge in a crevasse during the avalanche.
The weather in the Himalayas is generally worse in autumn and winter and the risk of avalanches is higher than in spring. As a rule, more climbers climb the mountains in spring.