Twelve British citizens including a 13-year-old girl are among 384 travellers missing after a flash flood in the Rasuwa district of Nepal, according to reports. The Nepali tourist board said the “sudden” flood happened on the Tibetan side of the Bhote Koshi River at about 8.30am local time on Wednesday. It said 12 Britons, four South Africans and four Nepalis were in the area with Alpine Eco Trek. The company, which offers guided tours and expeditions in Nepal, confirmed that 12 British nationals on its tour across the Nepal-Tibet border…
Tag: Nepal
‘Major casualties’ feared after flash floods along Nepal-Tibet border
Hundreds are missing and at least 22 people have died after torrential floods hit the Himalayan border areas of Nepal and in Tibet in China. Houses, roads, bridges and power projects were swept away in Nepal while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” with some missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a land crossing between the neighbours. Officials said 384 tourists, including 291 from countries including India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, were reported missing Rescue helicopters could not land in…
World-renowned climber Nirmal Purja among 11 struck by avalanche on Pakistan mountain
The world-renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja – a former British special forces member – is among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. The Alpine Club of Pakistan said “seven climbers have been spotted via aerial drone footage” adding that “their identities and condition cannot yet be verified”. Rescuers had said earlier on Friday that four bodies had been found and efforts were under way to retrieve them despite the harsh weather. Three of the dead have been identified: Pur Bahadur Gurung, a Nepali citizen, Nadhira…
China Exports Surveillance
When I first read about how China tracks its citizens with surveillance cameras and also ranks them according to a set of political and social criteria set by the Communist Party, it was impossible not to think of “1984” and Big Brother. Since then, China has become the world’s superpower of surveillance, much of it augmented by artificial intelligence. It’s Mao-era policing on steroids. And as my colleagues David Pierson and Berry Wang write, that model of policing is now being exported to authoritarian states and weak democracies across the…
Non-stop snow, instant noodles and yaks: tales of being trapped on Everest
The weather wasn’t great. A bit drizzly and cold. But about 1,000 people steeled themselves on Mount Everest’s eastern flank to spend the national day long weekend trekking. As he led the group along the path lined with stunning icy peaks, 32-year-old guide Shu Wei felt increasingly uneasy. He knew the weather on the mountains could be unpredictable and dangerous, but this snowfall was something else. “It had already reached up to our knees around 8pm,” he says. “And it didn’t stop snowing the entire night.” As they had set…
Mount Everest rescue: all hikers now safe after days stranded in powerful blizzard
Rescuers guided all of the remaining trekkers near the east face of Everest in Tibet to safety, including hundreds of local guides and yak herders, authorities said, ending one of the largest search-and-rescue operations in the region. Hundreds of hikers were stranded in deep snow over the weekend in the isolated Karma valley after an unusually powerful blizzard dumped heavy snowfall in the region. Snow fell throughout Saturday in the valley, which lies at an average altitude of 4,200m (13,800ft). On Sunday, rescuers had guided about 350 hikers to safety.…
Mount Everest hikers describe ‘extreme’ conditions as huge rescue effort continues
Trekkers have described facing “extreme” conditions after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China’s busiest holiday weekends stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, prompting a massive rescue effort. Chinese authorities said about 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border. Crowds of tourists had travelled to the region for “Golden Week”, an eight-day holiday period in China. But Chinese authorities, which control the Tibetan Autonomous Region,…
Mount Everest rescue under way after snowstorm traps nearly 1,000 people
Rescue efforts are under way on Mount Everest after a snowstorm trapped nearly 1,000 people in campsites on the eastern side of the mountain, according to Chinese state media. Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of the mountain in Tibet were guided to safety by rescuers on Sunday, as unusually heavy precipitation including rain pummelled the Himalayas. As of Sunday, 350 people had reached the small township of Qudang, while contact with the remaining 200-plus trekkers had been made, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. Visitors…
Peak speed: Sherpas say their traditions are at risk after record Everest ascents
There is nothing unusual about records being broken on Mount Everest. But last week, two sets of climbers turned heads with ascents that many had never thought possible: they went straight up from sea level to the world’s highest summit in less than a week. On Wednesday, a team of four UK climbers, all ex-special forces soldiers, summited Everest having landed from London just over four days earlier. The following day, US-Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov said he had gone from New York to the top of Everest in under four…
Far Beyond the Pasturelands review – on the trail of the ‘Himalayan Viagra’
Every year, thousands of Nepalese villagers make their way to the Himalayan foothills in search of a fungus called yarsagumba. Known for its aphrodisiac properties, the elusive substance sells in China for a price higher than gold. Following Lalita, a young mother among the countless trekkers, this intimate documentary from Maude Plante-Husaruk and Maxime Lacoste-Lebuis paints a stirring portrait of a community exploited by modern commerce. Living in the largely agrarian village of Maikot, a wistful Lalita thinks back on her adolescent dreams of going to university, but an early…