Avalanche Hits Camp Before Himalayan Expedition

At least two people were killed and 12 are missing after an avalanche slammed into a high-altitude staging camp in the Himalayas on Sunday as Nepali mountain guides were preparing for an expedition near the 23,380-foot Himlung Himal peak. Rescuers brought two bodies and 10 survivors down from the mountain by helicopter to a nearby town, a government official said. The avalanche hit in Nepal's Manang district, close to the Tibet border, after days of heavy snowfall in the area, the BBC reports. All those killed or missing were Nepali nationals, per the AP.

A team had gone ahead of foreign climbers to set up camps and fix ropes. A stretch of severe mountain conditions has recently forced climbers off Mount Manaslu. Authorities had warned of severe weather across the nation over the weekend. It has rained across Nepal since Thursday, with snow falling in the northern mountain regions.