An avalanche has struck the base camp of Himlung Himal in Nepal, killing two people and leaving at least 14 others unaccounted for.
The 7,126-meter (23,380-foot) peak was hit following several days of heavy rain and snowfall across the region near the Tibetan border.
All of the dead and missing are mountain guides and staff employed by Nepalese expedition companies who were preparing the base camp ahead of paying climbers’ arrival.
The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association confirmed the toll, stating that those unaccounted for included both kitchen staff and climbing guides from multiple companies.
“There were a total of 14 kitchen staff members and two climbing guides from different companies who were missing,” the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association said.
“The two climbing guides have been found, but sadly, both were found deceased,” the association added, clarifying the fate of those initially reported missing.
Local police reported at least 22 people were present at the base camp when the avalanche struck on Sunday morning, though conflicting figures have complicated the overall picture.
Bibhuti Chand Thakur, head of trekking company Himalayan Holidays Nepal, confirmed that search and rescue operations were actively under way in the remote and communication-restricted area.
“The chance of survival remains high because of fresh snow,” Thakur said, noting he did not yet have a definitive count of the missing or survivors given the site’s isolation.
Nepalese authorities had issued severe weather warnings across the country over the weekend, with rain affecting much of the nation since Thursday and snowfall reported in the higher northern regions.
Those conditions prompted authorities to suspend climbing and trekking activities on several mountains, while roads and popular trekking routes were also disrupted by the ongoing adverse weather.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 mountains exceeding 8,000 meters, making mountaineering and trekking tourism a critical pillar of the national economy.
The avalanche strikes as Nepal continues to recover from catastrophic floods in August that killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands more missing across the country.
