A search was launched in Nepal on Monday, November 3, to find two Italian mountaineers missing during an attempt to climb Mount Panbari (6,887 m) in the Himalayas, Nepal’s tourism department learned.
The two climbers, Stefano Farronato and Alessandro Caputo, “were trapped in camp 1 due to heavy snowfall and have not given any news since Saturday” November 1, department spokesman Himal Gautam told AFP.
The expedition leader was rescued on Sunday at the base camp by a helicopter.
“The weather has improved”
Last week, Cyclone Montha, formed in the Bay of Bengal, brought heavy rain and snowfall to Nepal, isolating many trekkers and tourists across the country.
According to the president of the Association of Nepal Trekking Agencies, Sagar Pandey, more than a thousand people have been rescued since last Tuesday. “The low visibility made helicopter flights very difficult. But the weather has improved,” he added.
Nepal, which has eight of the ten highest peaks in the world, welcomes hundreds of mountaineers each year in spring and autumn, a season considered more dangerous due to the cold and snow in particular.
In recent days, at least three climbers – a Frenchman, a South Korean and an Australian – have died there.
Source: BFM TV
