Hundreds of hikers stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest have been guided to safety, Chinese state media said on Sunday.
Rescue efforts were under way to clear access to camps on the slope in Tibet after unusually heavy rain and snow pummelled the Himalayas.
By Sunday evening, 350 trekkers had reached the small township of Qudang, while contact with the remaining 200-plus trekkers had been made, state-run CCTV television reported.
The remaining trekkers will arrive in Qudang in stages with the help of rescuers arranged local authorities, it said. It wasn't clear whether guides and support staff were all accounted for.
Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams had been deployed to help remove snow blocking access to the area, according to an earlier report by state-backed Jimu News.
Hundreds of villagers and rescue teams have been sent to help clear snow blocking roads to the area, which sits at an altitude above 4,900 metres, according to Chinese state media.
Some tourists on the mountain have already been brought down, Jimu News said.
Heavy snowfall began on Friday evening and continued throughout Saturday, according to notices on the official WeChat accounts of the local Tingri County Tourism Company, which said ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended.
Across the border in Nepal, heavy rain triggered landslides and flash flooding that has blocked roads, washed away bridges and killed at least 47 people since Friday, police said.
Thirty-five people were killed in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district bordering India. Nine people were reported missing after being swept away by floods and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in the country.
