KATHMANDU // The mountaineers were in darkness when they heard the thunderous boom, and felt the crush of snow. Helplessly, they slid down Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest peak.
It would be an hour before the sun rose and the survivors saw the horrors the avalanche had wrought.
The remains of tents and the bodies of victims were strewn across the snow on the Himalayan peak in Nepal. Several people were injured and more still were simply gone.
"It was only a few seconds and we did not know what happened, but we had slid more than 200 metres," said Silvio Mondinelli, an Italian climber. "All we wanted was for it to stop."
Rescuers have recovered eight bodies - four French, one each from Germany, Italy and Spain, and a Nepali guide. Many of the 10 survivors of Sunday's tragedy, including Mr Mondinelli, were injured and flown to hospital by rescue helicopters.
The number of climbers unaccounted for remained unclear yesterday. The emergency services had said on Monday that they were attempting to recover a ninth body, and that six people were still missing. They were more tentative about those numbers yesterday.
Police Chief Basanta Bahadur Kuwar said there was lot of confusion among the climbers and because the avalanche occurred at a height of 7,000 metres, it was difficult for anyone but trained Sherpa guides to reach the area.
Balkrishan Ghimire, the director of the Nepal mountaineering department, said the authorities had the names of only three people reported missing. The government did not have officials posted on the mountain and the nearest police station is two-day trek from the base camp. Two French climbers were still unaccounted for on Monday afternoon, the French foreign ministry said.
The aerial search has ended, but Sherpa guides were continuing to search the slopes yesterday. The avalanche hit about 4am on Sunday while more than two dozen climbers were sleeping in tents at Camp 3 on Mount Manaslu.
Three French climbers and two Germans were flown to hospitals in Katmandu on Sunday. Two Italians were taken there on Monday - Mr Mondinelli, who has climbed the world's 14 highest peaks, and Christian Gobbi.
Mr Mondinelli said a third Italian climber and their Sherpa guide, who were in another tent had been buried by the avalanche and died.
Mr Mondinelli and Mr Gobbi looked out of their torn tent after the avalanche, but with no light, they could see nothing. "We found someone's boots and put them on," Gobbi said.
When the sun rose, they said, they were able to assist the injured with the help of Sherpa guides who came up from lower mountain camps. The survivors who could walk returned to the base camp while the more seriously injured were collected by helicopters.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
