Reuters
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The Nepali and Chinese sides of the Everest area had been closed to tourism on Wednesday because of unseasonably heavy snow, and a helicopter crashed in deep snowdrifts because it tried to rescue stranded trekkers.
Visited by 1000’s of trekkers and climbers, the area round Mount Everest has been blanketed by snow since Monday as a cyclone from the Bay of Bengal churned throughout India, ushering in a second bout of extreme snowfall in the Himalayas this month.
Authorities in Nepal have halted trekking on many mountain climbing routes because of rain at decrease elevations and heavy snowfall on greater trails, and have urged hikers to not enterprise out or proceed with their treks in the Annapurna, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri areas, dwelling to a few of the world’s highest peaks.
A small non-public helicopter flying to Lobuche close to the Everest Base Camp to rescue stranded trekkers crashed when it tried to land, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul mentioned.
CAAN video confirmed the helicopter, which slipped on the snow whereas touchdown, mendacity on its facet. The pilot survived and was later rescued. It was unclear whether or not the trekkers had been rescued.
Weather officers have forecast heavy rain and snow on Thursday and Friday as a result of passage of Cyclone Montha, which roared into India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday evening.
On the Tibetan facet of Everest, ticket gross sales had been suspended since Tuesday afternoon as roads turned icy and visibility plunged, creating impassable circumstances for vehicular visitors, in accordance with the tourism division of Tingri county.
It was unclear if there have been vacationers trapped contained in the Everest area in Tibet. The press workplace of the Tibetan authorities didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.
Weather forecast information reveals temperatures in Tingri are anticipated to dip additional under freezing this week.
In early October, a blizzard stranded tons of of trekkers close to the jap face of Everest on the Tibetan facet. All of the trekkers had been taken to security in a large-scale rescue operation that spanned a number of days beneath sub-freezing circumstances.
In Nepal, greater than 50 folks had died because of floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains.