Kathmandu, April 21:

Three Sherpa climbers — Ang Phinjo Sherpa, Lakpa Tseri Sherpa and Dawa Temba Sherpa — of Solukhumbu were buried in an ice fall in the upper Khumbu region on Mt Everest today.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) quoted a Liason officer and team leader as saying that the trio died when a huge chunk of ice fell on them at 7 am at an altitude of 5,630 metres.

According to it, other climbers sprung into action soon after the incident but could not find the bodies. Three other Sherpas were injured in the accident.

Ang Phinjo was working for the Great Escapes Trekking company and was in the ‘2006 IMG Everest Expedition I’, led by Justin Reese Merle of the United States.

The other two, Lakpa Tseri and Dawa Temba, were working for the Asian Trekking company and were part of the ‘Team No Limit Everest Expedition, 2006’ led by Douglas Tumminello of the US.