Strong winds blow away mountaineers' tents at Base Camp 2 of Mt Everest

Strong winds blew away several tents of mountaineers at Camp II of Mt Everest on Wednesday. The incident temporarily halted the expedition of a 50-member mountaineers' group staying at the tents.

 

The wind, with an estimated speed of 80-90 kph, was still hitting the tents until Wednesday evening and was expected to recede by Thursday morning.

 

"Strong winds blew some tents in the mountain since Wednesday morning as dozens of mountaineers were sheltered in the camp on their way to scale the 8,848.86 metre peak. There were around 50 mountaineers, including those from the USA, Iran, and Europe, besides the Nepalese mountain guides, when the incident occurred," Expedition Manager Chhang Dawa Sherpa of Seven Summit Trek told PTI.

 

The camps are situated at an altitude of 6,500 metres on Mt Everest, the world's highest, and all the mountaineers were safe and shifted to other safer tents that were intact.

 

"Now the tents need to be reinstalled once the situation becomes normal on Thursday, and the expeditions will move forward," he said.