Nepal denies reports of Sherpas leaving Mount Everest

Nepal today dismissed reports that Sherpa guides have left Mount Everest's base camp over differences with the government on compensation for the families of 13 of their colleagues killed in the worst disaster on the world's highest peak.
"The media reports that mountain guides have left Everest base camp after Friday's avalanche are false," said Tilak Pandey, an official at Tourism Ministry.
"The Sherpas are mourning the death of their colleagues but we don't have information that they left the base camp," he told PTI.
The grief-stricken Sherpas have halted their activities for a week to mourn the death of 13 colleagues, said an official at Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA).

"They have not left the base camp. They would have contacted us, if they had left," he added.
Instead, they are discussing about safety measures and on how to move forward in this situation, he added.

"Although some Sherpas were considering suspending the mountain activity for the rest of this climbing season, they had now agreed to resume expeditions after the mourning," according to Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the NMA.
Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Expedition said that they were not halting the climbing in the rest of the season despite the tragic incident.
There was tension and grief among the climbers and mountain guides after the death of their colleagues in the avalanche.

Thirteen dead bodies have been recovered and three others remained missing in the incident. Nine other Sherpas were rescued alive.
Nepal government yesterday agreed to most of the demands put forward by Sherpa guides. It agreed to set up a relief fund for the victims of mountain disasters and appealed to Sherpas not to launch an agitation as it could cripple tourism industry, the country's main forex earner.
The government said it would raise the minimum insurance cover for Sherpas by 50 per cent to USD 15,000 and would also pay for the education of their children.
The medical expenditure has also been increased to USD 4,000 from 3,000.

The government has also agreed to install a memorial of the deceased mountain guides.
"We will also take measures to prevent such incidents in the future," Tourism Minister Bhim Acharya said during a function to mourn the deceased climbers.
Meanwhile, the government today decided to send a high-level team, led by a senior official, to the Everest base camp as soon as possible to discuss problems faced by Sherpas.