KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 7
Rescuers have officially ended their search for five climbers buried under snow following a massive avalanche on Yalung Ri (5,630m) in the Rolwaling region on November 3, bringing a somber close to the tragedy that has shaken Nepal's mountaineering community.
The search and rescue team had been searching since November 5 for Italian-Canadian Marco Di Marcello, Italian Markus Kirchler, German Jakob Schreiber, and Nepali guides Padam Tamang and Mere Karki. Despite days of effort and digging several meters deep at the avalanche site, rescuers found only climbing equipment such as crampons-but no trace of the missing climbers.
Senior IFMGA guide Pasang Kidar Sherpa said the operation was suspended after repeated unsuccessful attempts. "We have been searching for three days but were unable to locate any of the buried climbers except those recovered on the first day," he said. "The snow has hardened, making further digging impossible. We plan to resume the search in June or July when the ice melts."
On the first day of rescue, the bodies of Italian climber Paolo Cocco and French national Christian Andre Manfredi were recovered and flown to Kathmandu for post-mortem at the Teaching Hospital.
The four-member Nepali rescue team, led by IFMGA/NNMGA guide Riten Jangbu Sherpa and including Pasang Kidar Sherpa, Chhiring Sonam Lama, and aspirant guide Pasang Temba Sherpa, had reached the avalanche site on November 5. They were later joined by senior international rescue experts Bruno Joseph Jelk (Switzerland), Michele Cucchi (Italy), and Chhiring Pande Bhote (Nepal), equipped with advanced search and rescue gear.
Bruno Jelk, president of the Terrestrial Commission of the International Committee for Alpine Rescue (IKAR-CISA), is globally regarded as one of the world's leading mountain rescue specialists.
The Consul General of Italy in Kolkata, Riccardo Dalla Costa, who holds jurisdiction over Nepal, also arrived in Kathmandu on November 5 to coordinate with Nepali authorities and rescue teams, in close liaison with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Earlier in the day, Mingma Sherpa, Chairman of Seven Summit Treks and Director of Heli Everest, confirmed that helicopters were being deployed to bring the rescue team back to Kathmandu.
The avalanche struck on the morning of November 3 while climbers were ascending a steep ice slope near Yalung Ri's summit. Seven climbers, including five foreigners, were buried; five others were injured and are currently undergoing treatment in Kathmandu.
The Yalung Ri disaster coincided with another deadly avalanche on Panbari Himal (6,887m) in the Manaslu region, where two Italian climbers, Farronato Stefano and Caputo Alessandro, were found dead inside their tent at Camp I after being missing since October 28. Their bodies were discovered on Tuesday at 5,242 meters by a team led by IFMGA guides Narendra Shahi and Pasang Kaji Sherpa.
Together, the two avalanches have claimed at least nine lives in Nepal's mountains this week-seven on Yalung Ri and two on Panbari Himal.
The Yalung Ri incident has reignited debate over Nepal's cumbersome rescue permit procedures, with climbers and officials pointing to bureaucratic delays as a key factor that hampered timely helicopter operations. Since Rolwaling lies in a restricted area, flight approvals require clearance from multiple ministries, including Defense and Home Affairs, often resulting in critical time loss during emergencies.
Responding to the delays, Phur Gyalje Sherpa, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), had said, "Smooth and swift rescue services are essential during mountaineering disasters. NMA will take the Rolwaling issue very seriously and coordinate with government agencies to ensure such delays do not occur again in the name of 'restricted zones'."
For now, the mountains keep their silence, five climbers remain entombed beneath Yalung Ri's frozen slopes, their families awaiting closure and the return of their loved ones when the snow softens once again.
