Himlung Himal Avalanche Leaves Worker Missing After Recovery of 15 Bodies
An avalanche at Himlung Himal base camp killed 15 Nepali workers, with one still missing as outfitters repair routes for upcoming commercial climbs, raising safety questions.
An avalanche on Nepal's 7,126-meter Himlung Himal has left one worker missing after the recovery of 15 bodies. The slide buried 27 Nepali staff and guides in the early hours of September 27 at a base camp in the Narpa Bhumi Rural Municipality.
Initial recovery efforts retrieved four bodies before being halted for two days due to a blizzard and four meters of fresh snow. At the request of families, a larger team returned and recovered 11 more victims by digging tunnels through the snowpack. Eleven survivors were also pulled from the debris.
Rescue efforts hampered by weather, families demand continued search
Mingma G, who led the operation, stated that heavy snowfall forced the initial pause. The subsequent recovery push, driven by families' pleas, successfully located the majority of the deceased. Rescuers have stated that efforts to locate the missing individual are being conducted with high priority.
Questions rise over safety decisions and commercial pressure
Mingma G claimed on social media that workers ignored warnings to leave the base camp ahead of the storm. We tried our best to convince them to leave base camp since Friday and move to the lower valley, but they did not take our warnings seriously and ignored them, he said.
This account has been challenged. The publication Everest Today has called for an independent investigation into who decided workers should remain in camp despite forecasts and whether commercial pressure influenced that decision. It demanded accountability if negligence is established. Everest Today said: "They went to the mountains to build a future for their families. They never returned."
One worker still missing as outfitters repair access routes
While the search continues for the missing worker, identified as 38-year-old Pasang Nuri Sherpa from Okhaldhunga, commercial outfitters are already working to reopen the route. Multiple expedition companies have mobilized teams to repair the trekking trail from Koto village to the base camp, which was damaged by the same snowfall and landslides.
The companies involved in the repair work include:
Their goal is to ensure the route is safe and accessible. Search operations for Pasang Nuri Sherpa continue with high priority.
