Climbers stranded for two days were picked on Monday from high altitudes on Mount Everest following a deadly quake-triggered avalanche.
Rescue teams in three helicopters were running missions to Camps One and Two on the world’s highest peak following Saturday’s avalanche that killed 18 people further down the mountain at base camp, officials said.
The 150-odd stranded climbers, not thought to be seriously injured, were blocked by slabs of ice and snow brought down in the avalanche which damaged their land route back down the mountain. The exhausted and emotional mountaineers said they were thankful to be alive.
“We have deployed three helicopters today to bring climbers down from Camp One and Two to base camp,” tourism department chief Tulsi Gautam told AFP. “They are safe but we need to bring them down because part of the route is damaged.”