MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING DISASTER
Himalayan avalanche kills nine in climbing expedition
Villagers had spotted the bodies on the mountain slopes on Saturday, but bad weather prevented emergency workers from retrieving them
Five South Koreans and four Nepali guides on a Himalayan climbing expedition were flung to their deaths after a huge block of ice crashed over a cliff into a narrow mountain gorge, a rescue official said on Monday. It was Nepal’s worst such disaster since 2015, when 18 climbers were killed in an avalanche triggered by a massive earthquake at the base of Mount Everest. The team attempting Mount Gurja, a 7,193m-high peak, was led by Kim Chang-ho, a veteran of the sport who had set speed records on 14 of the world’s highest mountains. The accident appeared to have happened on Thursday or Friday, said Suraj Paudyal, a rescue official with the private helicopter company that was involved in retrieving the bodies, which were scattered over a wide area in the mountains. "Some bodies were by the side of a cliff, while others lay in the ravine," said Paudyal, one of the first to arrive at the site, adding that it was reached only by dropping a 100m long line and harnesses from the helicopter...
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