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Sudden Blizzard Traps Nearly 1,000 on Mount Everest, Sparks Major Rescue Effort; Deadly Floods Hit Nepal
A sudden and severe blizzard has trapped nearly 1,000 hikers, guides, and local support staff in remote camps on Mount Everest’s Tibetan slopes during China’s National Day holiday weekend. The unexpected storm has triggered a massive rescue operation as authorities work to reach those stranded by heavy snow and challenging conditions.
The storm struck Friday, dumping significant snow and rain across the Himalayas. The most treacherous conditions were reported near the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, located in Tibet’s Karma Valley, where elevations soar above 13,779 feet. Snowfall continued into Saturday, rendering roads and popular trekking trails impassable.
As of Sunday, approximately 350 individuals have successfully made it to safety, according to reports from Reuters and Jimu news. Rescue teams have also established contact with several hundred others still awaiting assistance in the snowbound region.
China Central Television (CCTV) confirmed that hundreds of trekkers who have been rescued were guided to Qudang township. Emergency workers and local villagers are now engaged in clearing deep snow from mountain passes to facilitate the rescue of additional individuals, who are expected to arrive in stages.
Rescue efforts involve hundreds of local residents and members of Tibet’s Blue Sky Rescue Team, who have received distress calls detailing collapsed tents and cases of hypothermia among the stranded. Trekkers who made it to safety described the harrowing conditions.
Chen Geshuang, part of an 18-strong trekking team that reached Qudang, told Reuters, “It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk.” Chen added, “The weather this year is not normal.
The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly.”
In response to the unfolding crisis, the Tibetan regional government has organized coordinated search and rescue operations, deploying heavy machinery to reopen snow-blocked roads leading to the affected campsites. Authorities have also suspended ticket sales and closed entry to the Everest Scenic Area as of Saturday evening, according to the Tingri County Tourism Company. It remains unclear whether trekkers on the north face of Everest, which is also in Tibet but more readily accessible by road, were impacted by the same weather system.
The extreme weather system has had devastating effects across the broader region. Neighboring Nepal has also been battered by heavy rains, triggering deadly landslides and flash floods.
At least 47 people have died since Friday, with 35 fatalities occurring in separate landslides within the eastern Ilam district alone. Several others are reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters.