The last 15 trekkers trapped on Everest after a snowstorm have been rescued safely. Photo / Getty Images
The last 15 trekkers trapped on Everest after a snowstorm have been rescued safely. Photo / Getty Images
The remaining 15 hikers stranded on the Chinese side of Mt Everest have been rescued from the world’s tallest mountain, China’s state broadcaster reported today bringing to an end a holiday adventure gone badly wrong.
Almost 1000 people got stuck after a weekend of heavy snowfall that madeswathes of Mt Everest impassable.
Many of the people had taken advantage of the mid-autumn festival, a string of holidays lasting more than a week, to make the journey.
Some 580 hikers had been rescued from the snowstorm by yesterday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, in addition to over 300 local guides, yak handlers and other workers assisting trekkers in their ascent up Mt Everest.
But some 15 other trekkers were still making their way down the mountain with help from rescuers, it added.
The final group safely reached Qudang township, where local rescue teams provided food, medicine, heating and oxygen equipment, and warm clothing, CCTV reported.
More than 900 personnel – including police, firefighters, medical workers, and local residents forming yak transport teams – were involved in the rescue, the state broadcaster reported.
Search-and-rescue teams, including some equipped with horses and drones, launched a days-long effort to get the hikers to safety, according to state media, with villagers also assisting with oxen and horses.
Local outlets were reporting that the hikers were trapped partway up the mountain at an elevation of about 16,400 feet (5000m), mostly at tourist campsites. The summit of Mt Everest has an altitude of some 29,000 feet (8840m).
After days trapped by blizzards, the final trekkers stranded on Mount Everest have been rescued in a massive operation led by Chinese authorities. Photo / The Washington Post
One of those trapped, 41-year-old Eric Wen, recalled trekking for 19km through mostly heavy snow on his descent.
“Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow – that made it a little easier,” he told Reuters. “Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible for us to make it out on our own.”
One part of Everest is in Nepal and the other part is in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Nepal authorities told the Kathmandu Post that no climbers or tourists were trapped in the recent weather on Nepal’s side.
A large number of Chinese tourists had flocked to the area – a designated scenic site – because of the holiday period.
The full ascent to Mt Everest’s peak can take about two months, including the time taken to acclimatise to the extreme altitude. The increasing popularity of the climb with tourists, leading to traffic jams on some of its paths, has pushed Nepal to move to restricting permits to more experienced hikers.
While more than 6000 hikers have successfully ascended Everest, hundreds have died on its slopes.
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