Rescuers are struggling to reach at least 200 hikers trapped in a Mount Everest valley by an unexpectedly fierce weekend snowstorm that pounded the mountain with snow and heavy rain, according to Chinese state media CCTV.
About 350 hikers caught in the storm have been guided to safety by rescuers, Reuters reported. They were taken to the small township of Qudang, near the eastern slope of Everest.
A male hiker, 41, reportedly died of hypothermia and acute altitude sickness, according to Xinhua, a Chinese state media outlet.
At 29,032 feet high, Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It’s in the Himalayan mountain range between Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China.
Visitation to the mountain was at its peak season when the storm occurred.
