Stranded on the Everest: Rescue teams make frantic efforts to evacuate dozens of survivors

As many as 120 people are awaiting rescue on the world's highest mountain

Rescuers are desperately searching the Everest for climbers who have disappeared under huge avalanches which were triggered by Saturday's massive earthquake and over two dozen aftershocks. They are, according to a British mountaineer, ‘in race against time’ to evacuate nearly 120 people to safety.

The death toll from the calamity has crossed 3,700, with around 6,300 people injured. Moreover, up to 100 Americans were missing in the region, along with around 50 belonging to the UK.

Speaking over a satellite phone from Base Camp One on the world's highest mountain, British climber James Grieve, 52, said rescue efforts had been affected by storms while fearing that their remaining supplies would last only a few days more. His partner added that despite his traumatic experience, he is in 'good spirits'.

Footage from Everest Base Camp showed a huge wall of snow and debris hurtling towards them as climbers run for cover

He spoke as a terrifying video emerged of a massive avalanche triggered by the quake. The avalanche completely buried the camp. Many climbers, including several Britons, were cut off from the camp by the avalanche.

According to Nepal's mountaineering department, at least 18 people were killed and 61 were injured in the catastrophe, while search for an unknown number of people continues.

Climbers emerging from their tents to find the Everest Base Camp flattened

Fearing for the victims, Grieve, of Kinross, Scotland told The Sun: “Everyone is apprehensive about what's happening and what will happen in the next 24 hours. We have a few days of food and drink left. Our tents have all been lost and we have around 18 dead bodies at base camp.”

Stranded climbers evacuation from camp1&2 continues. 3 helis fly non stop. Only 2 people per shuttle due to high altitude. Weather good.

— Alex Gavan (@AlexGAVAN) April 27, 2015

“Rescue teams are struggling to get us help due to the weather and the next few days' forecasts are not great. There is a lot of confusion in the camp and there are still about 120 of us here waiting to be rescued”.

“We are in a race against time to get off the mountain,” he added.

A person critically injured in the avalanche was carried on a stretcher to be evacuated out of Everest Base Camp

Grieve feared that up to 50 people had been killed and said the helicopters had planned to rescue them on Monday, adding that “the choppers are only taking two people off at a time”.



Explaining the calamity, Climber Garrett Madison, who was leading a group up the mountain, told Sun Today: “I was leading the team in the Western Cwm, a valley between Camp One and Camp Two, and we were about two thirds of the way up when we heard an awful noise and heard avalanches coming down either side of the valley. We thought we were going to get wiped out but we were only dusted by a snow cloud.”

Dutch climber Eric Arnold described what was previously the base camp, “We walked through the base camp and see if we can help somewhere. We could not do anything. In the morning, the weather was equally clear. At that time, 35 wounded were transported to Kathmandu by helicopter. Seventeen people were deceased by the disaster”.

The story originally appeared on Mail Online