Rescue teams search Nepal mountain for 12 swept by avalanche

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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescue teams on Monday searched for a dozen people swept away by an avalanche that killed at least two others on a Nepalese mountain during severe weather.

Another 10 were rescued from Mount Himlung, a 7,126-meter (23,380-foot) peak in north-central Nepal after the avalanche hit on Sunday.

All those killed or missing were Nepali nationals. The avalanche hit as they were at a base camp preparing for foreign clients to arrive and climb the peak during the Autumn climbing season that began this month.

Helicopters brought down the 10 rescued, while the remains of the two who were killed were airlifted Monday to Kathmandu airport and transported to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Family and friends were at the hospital morgue but would not comment.

Flooding and landslides were reported in the Manang district where the mountain is located over the weekend, all caused by heavy rainfall, the district administration office said.

The avalanche comes as the government issued warnings of severe weather all across the entire Himalayan nation.

Nepal’s disaster management agency said 21 other people have been killed and five more are missing in different parts of the country between Thursday and Sunday.

Nepal is recovering from devastating flooding in August that swept several villages, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and nearly 6,000 others missing.