By Raymond Zhong
NEW DELHI--The earthquake that ravaged parts of Nepal on
Saturday triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest that had killed 10
people as of Saturday night, according to police.
The rush of ice and snow swept through the base camp where
climbers were preparing to ascend the world's highest peak,
expedition operators said. Google Inc. said Saturday that one of
its engineers, Dan Fredinburg, was among the dead. It said three
other Google employees on Mount Everest were safe.
The extent of casualties on the mountain was unclear because
communications were disrupted across Nepal by the quake, whose
epicenter was 135 miles west of Everest.
Iswari Paudel, managing director of Himalayan Guides Nepal, a
Katmandu-based trekking firm, said he had gotten word that the
avalanche killed four people who were working on the mountain for
his company.
Nima Namgyal Sherpa, a physician and mountaineer, said on
Facebook that a helicopter landed at base camp early Sunday morning
to evacuate the injured. "Praying for [a] few hours of good weather
to complete our rescue mission," Dr. Sherpa wrote.
An avalanche on Everest last year killed 16 Nepali staff in the
single-deadliest day in the history of climbing on the mountain.
The disaster sparked protests among the Nepalis who help haul
climbers' gear, cook their food and set up their camps, leading
many trip operators to call off their expeditions.
With this spring's Himalayan climbing season only a few weeks
old, teams were at base camp acclimatizing and making preparatory
hikes. Trekking companies from Katmandu to New Zealand spoke with
their teams in the high Himalayas by satellite phone.
Caroline Blaikie, operations manager at Wanaka, New
Zealand-based Adventure Consultants, said the company's team on
Mount Everest was safe. Russell Brice, owner of Himalayan
Experience, said his team was unharmed and staying at base
camp.
Buildings were also damaged in the mountainous Khumbu region
that trekkers traverse to reach Everest, according to Sarad Dulal,
managing director of Swissa, a Katmandu-based adventure company.
Swissa had four trekkers and two guides in the area, all of whom
were safe, Mr. Dulal said.
Write to Raymond Zhong at raymond.zhong@wsj.com
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