Three dead, eight missing in Nepal Himalayan avalanche

Three climbers, including a foreign national, were killed and eight others were reported missing after an avalanche struck a climbing expedition on a Himalayan peak in Nepal, police said on Monday.

Among those missing on the Yalung Ri Himal mountain — which rises to 5,630 metres (18,470 feet) in the Dolakha district northeast of Kathmandu — were five foreign nationals, police official Gyan Kumar Mahato told Reuters.

The nationalities of the deceased and the missing climbers were not immediately known.

Four injured climbers were evacuated to a nearby village, while a search operation for the missing, including a helicopter mission, was underway, Mahato said.

“We have also dispatched ground search-and-rescue teams from the army and police and are awaiting developments,” he added.

Yalung Ri is located in the Rolwaling Valley of northeastern Nepal, where climbers encounter a challenging mix of rock, ice, and snow.