Kathmandu: An Indian-German climber and his Nepali Sherpa guide have died after an avalanche struck their tent at Camp 3 of Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak, a company official said Sunday.
Dhruva Jyoti Guha and Fursemba Sherpa had advanced towards a higher camp from Camp 2 despite adverse weather conditions and were caught in the avalanche Saturday night, said Mohan Lamsal, managing director of Makalu Adventure, which organised the expedition.
Fursemba Sherpa was an experienced mountain guide from Nepal’s Makalu, while Guha was a resident of Germany.
Their bodies were found covered by about seven feet of snow when a rescue team reached Camp 3 of the mountain in Nepal, Lamsal said.
“A heavy avalanche fell above their tent and both the climbers were buried in the snow,” he said.
“Six other climbers from the company who decided to retreat from Camp 2 were safe, but the two who made the attempt in a hurry despite the bad weather condition met with the accident,” he said.
The rescue team was sent to Camp 3 after the two climbers stopped communicating with the expedition organisers. Their last communication was received on Saturday night, according to Lamsal.
Efforts were underway to bring the bodies down to the base camp, from where they are expected to be flown to Kathmandu Monday, if the weather permits, he said.
The deaths have taken the number of fatalities on Mount Manaslu this climbing season to four.
Earlier, a Singaporean climber and a Nepali guide were killed in separate incidents on the mountain, according to the expedition organiser.
Mount Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain in the world, rising to 8,163 metres (26,781 feet) above sea level.
It is located in Nepal’s Gorkha district in the Himalayas, about 65 km east of the Annapurna range. The name Manaslu comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “mountain of the spirit.”
