Bodies of five European climbers found on Yalung Ri Himal brought to Na village

DOLAKHA:- Phurba Tenji Sherpa of Dream Destination stated that the bodies of five individuals, found on Mount Yalung Ri in the Rolwaling region (located in Ward No. 9 of Gaurishankar Rural Municipality, Dolakha), were recovered on Sunday morning and brought to ‘Na’ village within the same region. He informed that these were the bodies of climbers who had gone missing after being caught in an avalanche while attempting to summit Mount Yalung Ri last year.

They had set out to climb the 5,630-meter Yalung-Ri Peak in the Rolwaling region on the 11th of Kartik last year and were caught in an avalanche on the 17th of Kartik. Although a total of 15 climbers across various teams had gone to the mountain, eight were successfully rescued at the time. Among the seven caught in the avalanche, the bodies of Padam Tamang from Ward No. 9 of Gaurishankar Rural Municipality, Dolakha, and Mere Karki from Buksa, Solukhumbu, were recovered shortly after the incident.

Phurba Tenji Sherpa of Dream Destination stated that the bodies brought to ‘Na’ village on Sunday belonged to foreign nationals: France’s Menfedi Christina Andre (Passport No. 9DK92514); Italy’s Paolo Coco (Passport No. 9DK92514) and Marcos Kirchiller (Passport No. YB3843711); Germany’s Jakob Isriver (Passport No. CHIHX6HRZ); and Canada’s Marco Di Marcello (Passport No. CHIHX6HRZ).

Phurba Tenji stated that although efforts to retrieve the bodies spotted at the Yalung-Ri base camp began on Friday, adverse weather conditions meant they could only be recovered and brought to ‘Na’ village on Sunday morning.

A team led by Phurba Tenji Sherpa of Dream Destination—comprising Heli Everest pilots Pas-Tenji Sherpa and Priya Adhikari, engineer Kamal Shrestha, local resident Baburam Thakuri, and Senior Constable Jayeshwar Prasad Thakuri—had reached the base camp to retrieve the bodies found on Mount Yalung-Ri.

Having stayed at ‘Kalche’ in the Rolwaling region on Saturday, they began the task of recovering the bodies at 6:00 AM on Sunday. Phurba Tenji reported that, through seven or eight attempts made under highly hazardous conditions, the bodies were successfully retrieved and brought to ‘Na’ village by 10:00 AM Sunday. Ngima Geli Sherpa, Chairperson of Ward No. 9, stated that the ward office is also providing necessary support and coordination for the recovery operation.

Phurba Tenji stated that, due to adverse weather conditions preventing the transport of the recovered bodies to Kathmandu on Sunday, they will be taken there on Monday morning. He mentioned that once the bodies reach Kathmandu, they will be handed over to the respective embassies and the victims’ relatives. Phurba Tenji also noted that the relatives of the deceased have already arrived in Kathmandu to receive the bodies.