About 900 hikers, guides, and other individuals who were trapped due to a snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest have been successfully rescued, as reported by state media on Tuesday night. The severe storm hit the region on Saturday night, isolating the hikers who were staying in tents at an altitude exceeding 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).
A total of 580 hikers and over 300 guides, yak herders, and other workers were stranded initially. By noon on Monday, approximately 350 hikers had managed to descend, with the remainder reaching safety by Tuesday, according to local government sources.
Several hikers suffered from hypothermia, and around a dozen of them were guided to a designated meeting point by rescue teams equipped with essential supplies such as food, medicine, heating, and oxygen provisions. The picturesque Mount Everest area in China’s Tibet region has been temporarily closed off. Standing at 8,850 meters (29,000 feet), Mount Everest straddles the border between China and Nepal.
The snowstorm coincided with a weeklong holiday ending on Wednesday, during which many Chinese citizens travel domestically and internationally. This holiday commemorates the establishment of Communist Party rule in China on October 1, 1949.
In a separate incident, a South Korean climber lost their life in a weekend storm near the summit of Mera Peak, a 6,476-meter (21,250-foot) mountain located south of Everest in Nepal. Early-season snowstorms also affected other regions in western China, causing one fatality and stranding motorists on a snow-covered highway near a popular hiking destination.
Over 200 individuals were evacuated from a remote valley in the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai province, where one person succumbed to hypothermia and altitude sickness. Authorities cautioned against unauthorized entry into the area due to the challenging terrain, unpredictable weather, and an average altitude exceeding 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).
In Xinjiang region’s northwest China, the Kanas scenic area was shut down following a snowstorm that left motorists stranded on a nearby highway. By Monday, the road had been cleared, as reported by state media.
