Authorities reported on Saturday that the search for three Nepalese climbers who went missing on Mount Everest last Wednesday has been suspended. The three climbers were crossing the Khumbu Icefall as part of a supply mission when a block of ice fell and dragged them into a deep crevasse.
“After several search and rescue attempts, the operations have been suspended. They are buried too deep, and it doesn’t seem possible to recover the bodies,” said Bigyan Koirala of the tourism department to AFP.
The Khumbu Icefall is a dangerous and changing extension of ice that forces climbers to navigate crevasses via rickety ladders. All climbers must cross it on the way to the 8,849-meter peak.
“This morning we searched again and were able to locate the area, but it was not possible to bring them back home,” said Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, from the expedition company Imagine Nepal, on Friday on Instagram.
The company also posted condolences on their Instagram account. Nepalese guides, usually of Sherpa ethnicity, who live in the valleys surrounding Everest are the backbone of the mountaineering industry in the Himalayas and account for about a third of deaths on Everest.