Five S Koreans among 9 killed as avalanche hits Nepal peak

KATHMANDU: Nine members of a South Korean climbing expedition were killed in a massive avalanche which devastated their camp on Nepal's Mt Gurja, one of the deadliest mountaineering accidents to hit the Himalayan nation in recent years.

The bodies of eight climbers - four South Koreans and four Nepali guides - were spotted near the wreckage of their camp by a rescue team on Saturday morning. A fifth South Korean climber was initially reported missing, but officials later confirmed he was at the camp when the deadly storm hit on Friday and also perished.

"A mountain expedition of five South Korean nationals and four foreigners were swept off by strong winds at the base camp during their climb to Mount Gurja. (They) fell off a cliff and died," the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

Helicopter pilot Siddartha Gurung was among the first people to reach the site after the deadly storm and described a scene of total destruction.

He said all the tents had been flattened, reduced to a tangled mess of tarpaulin and broken polls, and the climbers' bodies were scattered across a wide area, including some in a river bed some 500 metres away from the main camp.