Avalanche kills 15 Nepali workers preparing Himalayan mountain camp for climbers
An avalanche at the Himlung Himal base camp in Nepal has killed 15 workers who were preparing the site for the autumn climbing season. Rescue operations are winding down as the incident highlights the increasing dangers posed by climate change to mountain tourism.
Why it matters
The tragedy underscores the human cost of climate-induced environmental instability in high-altitude regions reliant on tourism.
“At least 15 Nepali workers were killed when an avalanche buried a mountain camp they were preparing in central Nepal for foreign climbers,” a rescue official said on Thursday (October 1, 2026), in the deadliest incident of the Autumn climbing season ending this month.
The avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-foot) Himlung Himal mountain in the northern Manang district over the weekend where the Nepali workers were pitching tents and fixing ropes. One remains missing.
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“Rescuers have so far recovered 15 bodies from the site,” said Tul Singh Gurung, president of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA).
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