Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Hundreds of hikers have been rescued after being trapped on Mount Everest following an unusually strong snowstorm over the weekend.
The snowstorm struck the eastern slope of Everest on the Tibetan side of the mountain Friday evening. The blizzard came as China was celebrating its weeklong holiday to celebrate the country's founding.
More than 350 people had been rescued as of Monday and were in Qudang, a community near the Karma Valley, reported The Telegraph, citing state media. The hikers' route through the valley is at 16,000 feet, making their rescue particularly challenging, according to the news outlet.
"It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk," Chen Geshuang said, according to the Telegraph. "The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."
Dong Shuchang told the BBC that she and other hikers huddled in a chilly hotel in Qudang where there was neither electricity nor running water.
