MOUNT EVEREST, TIBET, Oct 6— A sudden and intense blizzard on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest (known locally as Mount Qomolangma) has left over 200 climbers stranded, according to international media reports citing Chinese state television. The incident comes as China is largely shut down for a major eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
While more than 200 hikers remain trapped at high-altitude campsites, a significant rescue operation has successfully guided approximately 350 other climbers to safety. Local villagers and official rescue teams have been instrumental in the effort, rushing essential supplies to the remote Karma valley where the majority of the hikers were located. Earlier, unofficial estimates had suggested that over 1,000 holiday hikers were initially caught out in the storm.
The blizzard, which began with snow on Friday, intensified dramatically over the weekend. Eyewitness accounts and videos posted by the stranded climbers on social media described severe weather on Sunday, including thunder, strong winds, and “incessant snow” that completely buried the tracks leading to the campsites. The conditions for the remaining stranded climbers reportedly worsened significantly on Sunday.
Details regarding the full extent of the crisis remain limited. Mainstream media in China has been slow to report on the blizzard, with most information being channeled through international outlets and scattered social media posts.
The severe weather on Everest’s slopes coincides with a powerful storm system farther south. Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the Pacific typhoon season, made landfall on Sunday along the eastern coast of Xuwen County in southern China’s Guangdong Province, packing maximum speeds of 151 km/h. Local governments in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan had evacuated nearly 347,000 people in anticipation of the storm.
