Over 150 stranded in Everest camps

More than 150 mountaineers are still stranded in two camp sites of Mt. Everest following a powerful earthquake in Nepal on Saturday, a senior government official told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

"It has come to our notice that over 150 climbers are languishing in the two base camps. We have intensified the rescue operation by deploying helicopters and medical teams. We are hopeful they can be rescued at the earliest," Xinhua news agency quoted Nepal Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal as saying.

The chief secretary said the government was making the utmost efforts to rescue the victims of the earthquake at the earliest.

="We had dispatched six helicopters to the avalanche-hit area. But only two could function due to the bad weather condition," Paudyal said.

Meanwhile, the toll in the quake-triggered avalanche on Mount Everest has climbed to 19. The nationalities of all the victims are not yet known.

Director General of Nepal's tourism department, Tulsi Prasad Gautam, confirmed that 19 climbers, including a Japanese national, have been killed.

Over a dozen mountaineers are undergoing treatment at Pheriche village near Lukla, home ministry officials said.