KATHMANDU, MAY 10

High winds have destroyed Camp II along with most of the tents and gear on Mt Everest this afternoon, eyewitnesses have said.

'Strong winds blew the tents off the mountain but no one was hurt,' Pemba Dorje Sherpa, Managing Director at Himalayan Shepherd, told THT.

Most tents have blown away with wind gusting at 80-90 kph while a few were being covered with rocks, Sherpa added.

'We can hear the roar of the winds up high from the Everest Base Camp,' Sherpa said, adding that climbers and support staff were now descending to the base camp. The expedition members need to go back up and rebuild camp.

'We're all at EBC. Yes, the winds at C2 and above have been very strong. They were battering the tents for a few days,' Michael Hamill, owner of the Climbing The Seven Summits, shared.

Weather reports show that the winds are expected to continue for the next few days. 'Rope fixing team from Imagine Nepal Treks is scheduled to start summit push on May 13/14 depending on weather conditions.'