Hundreds of hikers rescued from Mount Everest after severe snowstorm

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Hundreds of hikers rescued from Mount Everest after severe snowstorm

2025-10-08 10:37 Last Updated At：10:40

BEIJING (AP) — About 900 hikers, guides and other staff who were stranded by a weekend snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest have reached safety, state media said late Tuesday.

A severe storm struck the area Saturday night, cutting off access to where the hikers were staying in tents at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

In all, 580 hikers and more than 300 guides, yak herders and other workers were stranded. About 350 hikers were able to descend by noon Monday and the rest had arrived by Tuesday, state media said, citing the local government.

Some hikers reportedly had hypothermia, and the official Xinhua News Agency said about a dozen of them were escorted to a meeting point by teams with food, medicine, heating and oxygen supplies.

The scenic area at Mount Everest in China's Tibet region has been temporarily closed. The 8,850-meter (29,000-foot) peak, the world's highest, straddles the border with Nepal.

The storm struck during a weeklong holiday that ends Wednesday. Many Chinese travel at home and abroad during the holiday, which marks the anniversary of the start of Communist Party rule in China on Oct. 1, 1949.

In Nepal, a South Korean climber died in a weekend storm near the summit of Mera Peak, a 6,476-meter (21,250-foot) Himalayan mountain south of Everest.

Early-season snowstorms hit at least two other areas in western China over the weekend, killing one person and stranding motorists on an icy and snowy highway near a scenic hiking spot.

More than 200 people were evacuated from a remote and rugged valley in the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai province. One person died of hypothermia and altitude sickness.

The area is undeveloped, and authorities later warned people against entering without permission, citing the difficult terrain, unpredictable weather and an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).

In northwest China's Xinjiang region, the Kanas scenic area was closed after a snowstorm Sunday that stranded motorists on a nearby highway. The road had been cleared by Monday, state media said.

'Several tens' dead, about 100 injured in fire at Swiss Alps bar during New Year's celebration

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.

“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Zurich.

The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters (1.86 miles), according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.

The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan. 1, 2017, when multiple towns merged. It extends over 590 hectares (2.3 square miles) from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier.

Crans-Montana is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.

Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views.