Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a sudden blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet have been rescued, while more than 200 others remain awaiting evacuation, Chinese state media reported.
Chinese officials confirmed on Monday that one South Korean trekker had died, while 137 others trapped by the blizzard were rescued.
Nearly 1,000 people were initially trapped in the valley before rescue teams, supported by local authorities, began clearing access routes.
Rescue teams, joined by hundreds of local villagers, worked through the weekend to clear snow-blocked routes and reach stranded groups in the remote Karma Valley, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest.
The area, situated at an altitude of about 4,200 metres (13,800 feet), saw continuous snowfall from Friday evening through Saturday, with temperatures dropping below freezing point.
By Sunday, about 350 trekkers had reached the township of Qudang, where they were welcomed with hot soup before being transported out of the region.
Contact was established with more than 200 others still awaiting evacuation, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
The network later confirmed that all stranded trekkers had been contacted and that rescue operations were continuing in stages.
A video released by Tibet media showed exhausted trekkers being received by villagers in communal halls before boarding buses arranged by local authorities.
“It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk,” said Chen Geshuang, part of an 18-member trekking group that made it to safety. “The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly.”
Another trekker, Eric Wen, described enduring a harrowing night in heavy snow combined with thunder and lightning. “We only had a few tents. More than 10 of us were in the large tent and hardly slept,” Wen told Reuters. “We had to clear the snow every 10 minutes, otherwise our tents would have collapsed.”
Wen said two men and a woman in his group suffered hypothermia despite wearing sufficient gear, but his 18-member party, including guides and yak handlers, emerged largely unscathed.
CCTV said the remaining trekkers are being guided to Qudang in phases. It did not specify whether local guides and support staff had all been accounted for.
The blizzard coincided with China’s eight-day National Day or “Golden Week” holiday, during which hundreds of visitors had travelled to Karma Valley to trek amid what is typically clear October weather.
Karma Valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region.
Unlike the mountain’s arid north face, it is known for its lush vegetation and alpine forests nourished by meltwater from the Kangshung Glacier.
“I’ve come to the Himalayas around 20 times, but I’ve never experienced weather like this,” said seasoned hiker Dong Shuchang, 27, in an interview with the BBC.
Heavy snowfall intensified over the weekend, hitting the eastern slopes of Everest particularly hard.
The extreme weather has also affected neighbouring Nepal, where torrential rains and flash floods since Friday have killed at least 50 people, destroyed bridges and blocked key roads.
Thirty-seven deaths were reported in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district bordering India.
Tulsi Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association, said the body of a South Korean trekker who died after summiting the 6,476-metre Mera Peak on Saturday had been recovered by a rescue helicopter. His guide was rescued safely.
With inputs from Reuters