2015 Mount Everest avalanches

Helicopter evacuation

During the afternoon of 25 April 2015, a MW 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal and surrounding nations. Shaking from the quake triggered deadly avalanches on Mount Everest. At least nineteen people were killed, surpassing an avalanche that occurred over a year before as the deadliest disaster on the mountain.

Avalanches

Several hundred people were on Mount Everest when the earthquake struck according to climbers there.[1] The earthquake triggered several large avalanches on and around the mountain. One avalanche, originating off the nearby peak of Pumori,[2] swept through part of the Khumbu Icefall and into Everest Base Camp.[3][4][5][6] An Indian Army mountaineering team recovered the bodies of 19 mountaineers from the South Base Camp and rescued at least 61 stranded climbers from the mountain.[7][8][9]

Between 700 and 1,000+ people were thought to be on the mountain at the time, with at least 61 injured, "dozens" initially reported missing, and many more stranded at camps at higher elevations, having lost secure descent routes.[4][5][10][11][12][13] Mount Everest is approximately 220 kilometres (140 mi) east of the epicentre.

Rescue operations

Helicopters of the Indian Air Force reached Mount Everest on the morning of 26 April for rescue operations,[14] managing to transport 22 of the badly injured to Pheriche village, before the operation was halted by bad weather.[15] Pheriche is an important stopover for climbers, and has a rudimentary hospital usually staffed by locals and foreign volunteers.

Later that day, a helicopter reportedly evacuated several climbers from Everest Camp 1, the first stage above Base Camp, with some 100 mountaineers still unable to safely descend from Camp 1 and 2.[16] Many more were rescued on 27 April.[17] Climbers at the base camp posted to Twitter in the days after the disaster, speaking of "great desolation" and "high uncertainty" among those who were left, and stating that the area looked as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb; one mountaineer, speaking via Facebook, said that people stuck higher up on the mountain were "getting desperate".[18] On 27 April, 60 people were rescued from Camp I and 170 were rescued from Camp II.[19]

17 bodies were found on 25 April, and one was found on 27 April. On 26 April, one of the 61 badly injured died at KMC hospital.[19]

Deaths

In addition to Google executive Dan Fredinburg, who was climbing Everest with three other company employees while mapping the area for a future Google Earth-type project,[20] three other Americans were confirmed dead.[21][22]

A Nepal Mountaineering Association report on April 28, listed 19 deaths, of which 10 were identified as Nepalese Sherpas and five were foreign climbers. Four were not identified by name.[23] The five climbers were listed as two Americans, one Chinese, one Australian and one Japanese.[24]

Effect on 2015 climbing season

Although the ladders at the Khumbu Icefall were damaged by the avalanches, a handful of mountaineers, undeterred by the disaster, immediately sought Nepalese government permission to re-attempt their climb[25] and were granted permission on April 29, 2015.[26] "The ladders will be repaired in the next two to three days and climbing will continue, there is no reason for anyone to quit their expedition," said Tulsi Gautam, chief of the Nepal Department of Tourism. "There is no scientific reason to expect another quake... and we feel the ground is stable enough for climbing despite aftershocks."[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Earthquake Devastates Nepal, Killing More Than 1,900". NY Times. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Everest Base Camp a ‘War Zone’ After Earthquake Triggers Avalanches". National Geographic. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "10 confirmed dead in Mount Everest avalanche, but toll expected to rise". The Washington Post. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gopal Sharma (April 25, 2015). "Seventeen bodies found at Everest base camp: Official". The Toronto Sun. Reuters.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Beaumont, Peter (25 April 2015). "Deadly Everest avalanche triggered by Nepal earthquake". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Extent of the Damage From the Nepal Earthquake". NY Times. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "'Huge disaster': Hikers around Everest run for lives, treat injured". CNN.
  8. ↑ "Nepal earthquake: Over 1,900 dead as search for survivors continues". iTV.com.
  9. ↑ "Indian Army's expedition team rescues 61 climbers from Mount Everest". DNA India.
  10. ↑ Gregory Korte and Aamer Madhani (26 April 2015). "Mount Everest avalanche survivor: 'I had to survive'". USA Today. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Avalanche sweeps Everest base camp, killing 17, injuring 61", 25 April 2015; accessed 28 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Peter Holley (25 April 2015). "Massive avalanche slams into Everest base camp following Nepal earthquake". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  13. ↑ Melanie Eversley and Tom Vanden Brook (25 April 2015). "At least 10 dead, others missing as Nepal quake rocks Mount Everest". USA Today. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Live: First rescue plane lands at Kathmandu airport with 15 injured from Mt. Everest avalanche". firstpost.com.
  15. ↑ Gardiner Harris (25 April 2015). "At Least 10 Everest Climbers Killed as Nepal Quake Sets Off Avalanche". New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Sanjeev Miglani (26 April 2015). "Injured flown from Everest, aftershock triggers new avalanches". Reuters. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  17. ↑ Zoroya, Gregg. "High-altitude helicopter rescues begin on Mt. Everest". USA Today. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Climbers trapped on Mount Everest 'are getting desperate'". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Update News about avalanche at Everest, Nepal Mountaineering Association, 28 April, 2015
  20. ↑ Conor Dougherty (25 April 2015). "'Google Adventurer' Dies on Mt. Everest". New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  21. ↑ Wills Robinson (April 27, 2015). "'If you don't return we'll know that you've already lived the equivalent of at least 100 lives': The heartbreaking letter from a friend Google engineer was carrying to read at Everest summit before avalanche killed him". Daily Mail. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  22. ↑ Peter Holley (April 28, 2015). "Before the Everest avalanche, four Americans were exactly where they wanted to be". Washington Post. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  23. ↑ Name List of 15 identified dead body among 19 dead body found at Mt. Everest, Nepal Mountaineering Association, April 28, 2015
  24. ↑ The Latest on Nepal: In Ravaged Hamlets, Lives Were Spared, U.S. News and World Reports, April 29, 2015
  25. ↑ Samudra Gupta Kashyap (April 28, 2015). "Assam mountaineers undetterred after avalanche await Nepal govt’s permission to climb Everest". The Indian Express. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Climbing to resume on Mount Everest by next week: official". Agence France-Presse (Yahoo News). April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.

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