Himlung avalanche toll rises to seven dead, nine Nepali workers still missing

Three more bodies came off Himlung Himal on Wednesday, September 30. That brought the confirmed death toll from Sunday's avalanche to seven, with nine people still missing, Manang Chief District Officer Mukti Prasad Khanal said, according to The Rising Nepal and OnlineKhabar English News.

All nine still missing are Nepali nationals, PTI, the Indian news agency, reported, citing officials. They are mountain guides and kitchen staff, part of a group of 22 workers who travelled from Kathmandu to the 7,126 metre peak in Manang's Nar Phu area about two weeks earlier to fix ropes and prepare the base camp for the autumn climbing season, ETV Bharat reported. Separate ETV Bharat coverage used 22 as an early missing count, which authorities corrected on Tuesday, September 29.

For nine Nepali families, Thursday, October 1, brings no answers yet. The three bodies recovered on Wednesday, September 30, those of Aash Gurung, 58, of Gorkha, Suraj Rai, 21, of Khotang, and Kalam Budha, 57, of Rukum, are scheduled to be flown from Chame to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu on Thursday morning, Nepalnews reported, citing Assistant Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Paudel. Four other workers died earlier in the week. Chhebi Bhote and Pasang Bhote were recovered on Sunday, September 27, the day of the avalanche. Birendra Gurung and Ghanshyam Rai were recovered the next day, Monday, September 28, HimalPress reported.

The avalanche struck on Sunday morning amid heavy rain and snow that also set off landslides and floods elsewhere in Nepal, PTI reported. A weather warning had gone out the week before, and rope-fixing teams had begun pulling off the mountain, expedition organiser Mingma Gyalje Sherpa said, as reported by Daily Pioneer. Some people stayed behind despite the worsening conditions, he said.

At least two companies employed the workers. Himalayan Holidays Nepal and Imagine Nepal Pvt Ltd, which Nepalnews calls Expedition Imagine Company, confirmed on the day of the avalanche that eight and two of their staff respectively were unaccounted for, Expedition Operators Association general secretary Rishi Bhandari told the Kathmandu Post, as reported by Daily Pioneer. By Monday, September 28, the combined toll stood at four dead and 12 missing, sixteen in all, a total that has held since. Wednesday's count of seven dead and nine missing still adds to sixteen.

A 14-member rescue team remains on the mountain, PTI reported. The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, NNMGA, says its search is being led by IFMGA-certified guides Pasang Kaji Sherpa and Bikram Karki, supported by five more guides, HimalPress reported. It is not clear from the reports reviewed whether the seven NNMGA guides are part of the 14 member team PTI described or a separate group.

What the coverage missed

Three different voices have announced Wednesday's update, and it is not clear which one owns the official count. The Rising Nepal and OnlineKhabar name Manang CDO Mukti Prasad Khanal as the source of the toll. Nepalnews instead quotes Assistant CDO Krishna Prasad Paudel on the body transfers, and separately quotes NNMGA president Tul Singh Gurung saying "We have recovered three bodies from the avalanche today." HimalPress credits the NNMGA, not the district office, with coordinating the search itself.

What we still do not know

The nine still missing have not been named individually in any report reviewed for this story. The Manang District Administration Office could release a full list.

Whether the weather warning issued before September 27 changed how many workers stayed on the mountain is unaddressed in the reports reviewed. The Department of Tourism could answer that.

No report reviewed says whether the dead or missing carried high-altitude worker insurance, or whether Himalayan Holidays Nepal and Imagine Nepal Pvt Ltd have paid the nine families anything while they wait. The Department of Tourism and the two companies could answer that.