Bad weather and incessant rainfall have delayed the recovery of five bodies believed to be those of climbers killed in an avalanche at the base camp of Yalung Ri mountain in Nepal’s Dolakha district last year, police said on Saturday.
A police team and officials from the expedition company whose members were caught in the avalanche flew to the area on Friday after receiving information about the bodies on Thursday. However, they have been unable to reach the site for the past three days because of poor weather conditions.
“Because of bad weather and incessant rainfall in the area, we failed to reach the location on Friday and Saturday,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Lama of the District Police Office, Dolakha, told IANS.
He said the helicopter carrying the team had been stationed at Simi village near the mountain peak and that they were waiting for weather conditions to improve before proceeding to the site.
The avalanche struck the base camp of the 5,630-metre Yalung Ri peak while climbers were acclimatising before attempting nearby summits. Seven people, including five foreign nationals and two Nepali high-altitude guides, were killed in the disaster.
The newly discovered remains came to light after melting snow exposed human remains. Local residents and the expedition company subsequently informed authorities.
“Five people — three foreigners and two Nepalis — went missing in last year’s avalanche, and there is a high possibility that the bodies are those of the mountaineers who lost their lives in the disaster,” Lama said.
The five climbers had remained missing after several unsuccessful recovery attempts, following which the search was called off last year.
On the first day of the rescue operation, two bodies had been recovered and flown to Kathmandu for post-mortem examinations. The victims were part of a 12-member mountaineering group that had set out from the base camp to climb the peak.
Police said the identities of the five newly discovered bodies would be established only after they are recovered and subjected to forensic examination.
Yalung Ri, located in the Rolwaling range, is considered a relatively accessible trekking peak and attracts climbers seeking experience in high-altitude mountaineering.