2 killed, 12 missing in Nepal's Himlung avalanche

At least two people have been killed in an avalanche on the 7,126-metre-high Himlung mountain in Nepal. Twelve others are missing. Rescue operations are continuing despite adverse weather.

After the avalanche on Himlung mountain on Sunday, at least 10 people were rescued. The bodies of the two deceased were brought to Kathmandu airport by helicopter on Monday. The bodies were later taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

President of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, Tula Singh Gurung, said rescuers conducted searches until Monday evening. Twelve people are still missing. A team of eight mountaineers is also participating in the rescue operation.

The deceased and the missing are all Nepali citizens. They were preparing the base camp of Himlung before the arrival of foreign mountaineers. Nepal's autumn mountaineering season began this month.

Meanwhile, reports of flooding and landslides have been received in the Manang district, where Himlung is located, over the weekend due to heavy rain. The Nepal government has also issued an adverse weather warning across the country.

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 21 more people have been killed and five are missing in floods and landslides in various parts of the country from Thursday to Sunday.

Earlier, Nepal had not yet recovered from the impact of the devastating floods in August. More than 1,400 people were killed and thousands went missing in that disaster. World Weather Attribution said last week that no single extreme weather event was responsible for that disaster. A 'combined crisis' was created there due to long-term warming, melting glaciers, melting permafrost and geological instability.