Three young French climbers engaged in an expedition to Nepal are missing and a rescue team has been dispatched to the site, the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM) said on Sunday in a statement.
The three men are part of the National Alpinism Excellence Group (GEAN), the mountaineering elite within the Federation. They are part of a group of young athletes who left on September 30 in the Khumbu region (Everest region), to climb several peaks between 5 and 6,000 meters above sea level located south of Ama Dablam (6,814 m ), she explains.
Devastation in the ranks
The three missing climbers had left since October 24 for a climb to a summit near Ama Dablam and the last telephone contact with them dates back to October 26, according to FFCAM. A helicopter chartered by the federation carried out a reconnaissance on Saturday and spotted “traces of ascent as well as the debris of a large-scale avalanche in the face”. “Today Sunday, October 31, a helicopter with a rescue team is dispatched to try to find any survivors,” adds the FFCAM.
The head of GEAN Stéphane Benoist told the French regional daily Dauphiné Libéré to be “in shock, devastated, like the whole group”. According to him, the group of 8 climbers had split “into two groups, five on one side and three others (…), on another climb. There was a delay in their time of ascent, the FFCAM took the lead and had a helicopter fly over their wall ”.
“They spotted traces that end. One can imagine that they were swept away by an avalanche. The helicopter spotted traces of material at the foot of the wall. Tomorrow, Nepalese rescuers will go there, the weather forecast is good to intervene. We know it’s dangerous, but we’re devastated, ”he said.
The return of mountaineering to Nepal
According to the newspaper The Himalayan Times, tents and mountaineering equipment were spotted near a glacier under Mount Ama Dablam by a rescue team early Sunday. An official from the Ministry of Tourism told the newspaper that these climbers did not require the necessary permission to embark on this climb.
“We do not yet have clear information on the number of missing persons,” said the president of the Nepalese National Association of Mountain Guides, Ang Norbu Sherpa. “We sent a team of 5 very experienced mountain guides. They are on their way and will start search operations tomorrow (Monday), ”he added.
Mountaineers are back in Nepal after a complete shutdown last year due to the pandemic that devastated the economy of the country of 30 million people, which is heavily dependent on tourism. The country reopened to tourists in September, exempting those who are vaccinated from quarantine.