KATMANDU, Nepal — An avalanche hit climbers on a high Himalayan peak in Nepal on Sunday, leaving at least nine dead and six others missing, officials said. Many of the climbers were French or German.
Police official Basanta Bahadur Kuwar said the bodies of a Nepalese guide and a German man were recovered and that rescue pilots had spotted seven other bodies on the slopes of Mount Manaslu in northern Nepal, the eighth-highest mountain in the world.
In Madrid, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said one of those killed was Spanish but did not release the person’s identity. The identities of the other victims were being confirmed.
Ten other climbers survived the avalanche, but many were injured and were flown to hospitals by rescue helicopters, Kuwar said.
The avalanche hit the climbers at a camp at 22,960 feet early in the morning as they were preparing to head toward the summit, which is 26,760 feet high.
There were Italian, German and French teams on the mountain, with a total of 231 climbers and guides, but not all were at the higher camps, officials said.
Officials were investigating the cause of Sunday’s avalanche.
