Two European climbers have been swept away by an avalanche while a veteran Japanese mountaineer fell to his death in a separate incident in the Himalayas, officials here said today.
An European team of mountaineers were summiting Mt Shisha Pangma (8,027mt) in China, the world's 14th-highest peak, on Wednesday when an avalanche hit the expedition in which the two climbers were swept away, Nepal Mountaineering Association President Ang Tshering Sherpa said today.
The two climbers, Andrea Zambaldi, 32, of Italy and Sebastian Haag, 35, of Germany, have been presumed dead but their bodies are yet to be recovered, Ang said.
In another incident in the Himalayas, a 59-year-old experienced Japanese mountaineer, Yoshimasa Sasaki, plunged to his death from the slope of Mt Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world yesterday, said an offiical of Nepal's Tourism Ministry.
The Japanese mountaineer slipped after summiting the 8,156-metre peak. The climber's body will be brought to Kathmandu soon, the official said.
