Seven Climbers, Including Foreigners, Dead After Avalanche Strikes Northeast Nepal Peak

Last Updated:November 03, 2025, 21:24 IST

The avalanche struck northeastern Nepal's Yalung Ri peak. It swept through the base camp of the 5,630-metre-tall peak.

Nepal's mountains including Everest have long drawn climbers from across the world. The Himalayan nation is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of climbers every year. (IMAGE: AFP)

At least seven people, including foreign climbers, were killed and four others injured on Monday when an avalanche struck the Yalung Ri peak in northeastern Nepal.

Nepal-based newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported that four more people are missing, adding that the avalanche swept through the base camp of the 5,630-metre peak.

Yalung Ri is located in the Rolwaling Valley of Bagmati province’s Dolakha district.

According to District Police Office Deputy Superintendent Gyan Kumar Mahato, the deceased include three Americans, one Canadian, one Italian, and two Nepali nationals.

Meanwhile, two Italian climbers have gone missing while scaling a remote peak, tourism officials said Monday, after Cyclone Montha disrupted weather in the region.

The climbers, Stefano Farronato and Alessandro Caputo, were attempting to scale the 6,887-metre (22,595-foot) Panbari mountain in western Nepal as part of a three-member team.

Himal Gautam of Nepal’s tourism department said the search was ongoing for the missing climbers.

“The two were stuck in camp one because of heavy snowfall and have been out of contact since Saturday," Gautam said.

The team leader, who was at the base camp, was safe and rescued by helicopter Sunday, Gautam added.

Sagar Pandey, president of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, said more than a thousand trekkers and tourists had to be rescued since heavy snowfall began Tuesday.

“It was challenging because helicopter operations were difficult because of low visibility. Weather has improved now," Pandey said.

In Mustang district in west Nepal, Nepal Army rescuers took three days trekking and digging through snow on Friday to reach three British and 15 local trekkers.

Home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, Nepal welcomes hundreds of climbers and trekkers every year.

Avalanches pose a serious and persistent threat to high‑altitude climbers in Nepal. Between 1950 and 2021, around 1,042 mountaineers died in Nepal, with approximately 405 of those deaths coming just in the last two decades. Notably, about one‑third of all fatalities were attributed to avalanches, according to a 2022 report by the Vibes and the Himalayan Database.

Across the Himalayas, including peaks above 4,500 metres, at least 564 climbers have died in avalanches over the past five decades. On major high-altitude peaks above 6,000 metres, roughly one‑third of deaths are avalanche-related.

The risk is particularly high in central Nepal’s Rolwaling, Langtang, and Jugal regions, where changing weather, unstable snowpacks and crowded base camps increase vulnerability.

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...Read More

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...

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