A total of 580 tourists stranded on the slope of Mount Everest in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, along with more than 300 local guides and yak herders, have safely descended the mountain after a heavy snowstorm, China Central Television reported.
All of them arrived in Tsudan Township, Dingji County.
The remaining 10 tourists, supported by a rescue team, arrived at a temporary aid station. On October 6, it was reported that 350 tourists had safely descended the mountain.
On October 4, a heavy snowstorm hit a tourist camp on the east slope of Everest in Dingji County, Shigatse City. As reported earlier by Chinese media, the main routes were completely blocked by snow, and visibility dropped to less than one meter. According to the newspaper “Sanxiang Dushibao“, approximately 1,000 people trying to climb were unable to continue on icy roads and were forced to take shelter in tents. They were stranded in a camp at an altitude of 4,900 meters above sea level.
On October 5, hundreds of tourists were also stranded in the mountains in China's neighboring high-altitude Qinghai province. Rescuers evacuated 251 people, one of whom eventually died of hypothermia.
Everest (also known as Qomolangma) is part of the Mahalangur Himalayan range, located on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. In December 2020, after joint expeditions, China and Nepal announced a new, corrected altitude for Everest: it is now 8,848.86 meters above sea level, 86 cm higher than previously thought.