Likewise, 61 climbers have been badly injured in the avalanche.
After the avalanche tore through the Mount Everest base camp, the government has airlifted 150 climbers from the first and second base camps, according to Chief District Officer (CDO) Jhagnath Dhakal."Most of the climbers have already returned from the base camps," Angphula Sherpa, a journalist, said. "Aftershocks also triggered an avalanche on Wednesday, which has terrified the remaining climbers as well."
Horrified climbers have cancelled their expedition, said journalist Sherpa. He is also one of members of Peak Promotion Expedition Team.
As the climbers have lost their colleagues and the route to the Everest has also been damaged, 90 percent of the climbers have started returning from the base camps, he added.
As of Thursday, 150 Nepalis and 50 foreigners have been sheltering at the base camps. Among the foreigners, most are Indian nationals.
Meanwhile, climbers have expressed at the government as it has so far failed to send any representative to the base camp. US officials visited the base camp to learn about the whereabouts of American climbers, but no government has so far reached the base camp to take stock of the situation, said one of the Nepali climbers.
On Wednesday, Tulasi Gautam, chief of the Department of Tourism under the tourism ministry told the media that over 40 climbers were stranded at the base camp. However, Sherpa said that the figure was based on his assumption.
"It is the peak season for mountaineers to climb the Mount Everest, but the mountaineering will have to face a huge loss this year," said Ang Chhiring Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association. "Even we're taking initiatives to retain mountaineers with assurance of security," he added.
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