Rescue efforts under way after 1,000 people trapped on Mount Everest slopes
Rescue efforts under way after 1,000 people trapped on Mount Everest slopes
Rescue efforts are under way in the remote Tibetan slopes of Mount Everest where a snowstorm has trapped nearly 1,000 people in campsites on the eastern side of the mountain, according to Chinese state media.
Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams have been deployed to clear out snow blocking access to the area which sits at an altitude of more than 4,900 metres (16,000 feet).
According to local media about 350 people have been rescued and guided to safety to the small township of Qudang town, the Reuters news agency said.
Heavy snowfall began on Friday evening and has intensified on the eastern slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet, which is an area popular with climbers and hikers.
"It was so wet and cold - hypothermia was a real risk," Chen Geshuang, who was part of a trekking group who made it to Qudang, told Reuters.
"The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had ever encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."
Tibet's Blue Sky Rescue team had received a call for help saying that tents had collapsed due to heavy snow, and that some hikers were already suffering from hypothermia, Chinese state media reported.
Tingri County Tourism Company suspended ticket sales and entry to Everest Scenic Area from Saturday, according to Reuters news agency.
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