Climbing
This article serves as an update of a previous article on the avalanche.
Reports coming from Nepal are still muddled, and the total number of those deceased or even those in the area is still unclear. An avalanche hit several hiking groups on Monday, November 3, in the vicinity of the base camp at Mount Yalung Ri, located at 4,900 meters (16,000 feet). At this point, it can only be confirmed that seven climbers were buried by the avalanche, and of those, four are missing, and three are confirmed dead. While initial reports talked of seven deceased, even going as far as identifying them, foreign government officials have now redacted those statements, and expedition companies are asking not to misreport on the deaths until these are officially confirmed. At this point, it appears only three bodies have been recovered: those of Paolo Cocco, Christian Manfredi, and Mere Karki.
Initial reports stated that a total of 15: five foreign climbers and 10 Nepali high-alpine workers who had been in the region. It now appears that this information is incorrect, and there were, in fact, more climbers in the area, including a Nepalese actress who may have been filming in the region.
There were in total three separate trekking groups near the base camp: Dreamers Destinations Treks & Expeditions had a team of eight climbers, consisting of three foreign guests and their five Nepali guides, Yatri Trekking had three French guests and an unconfirmed number of guides, while Wilderness Outdoors Nepal had a third group in the area with at least two foreign guests and an unidentified number of local guides. This takes the total number of foreign climbers to eight, which may explain some of the misinformation in the situation (SnowBrains reached out to the latter two guiding companies for confirmation of exact numbers.)
Of the eight foreign guests, three are confirmed as safe and rescued: the French climbers, Isabelle Solange and Didier Berton from Yatri Trekking, and French ultra-runner and climate advocate Carole Fuchs from Dreamers Destinations. “I am not dead as some media outlets in Nepal reported,” Fuchs wrote on her Instagram account, quashing rumors she had perished in the avalanche. The French citizen who resides in Japan had been planning a 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) hike across the Himalayas to document climate change.
Also rescued were Nepalese actress Chhulthim Dolma Gurung and five Nepalese guides: Kaji Sherpa and Nima Gyalzen Sherpa from Dreamers Destination, Lakpa Tamang and Sun Bahadur Gurung from Yatri Trekking, and Raj Gurung, whose affiliation is unclear.
With eight foreign hikers, of which two are officially confirmed dead and three accounted for, this leaves three foreign nationals missing in the Yalung Ri mountains. Those three are two young men from German-speaking South Tyrol in the group who were residing in Munich, Germany, identified as Markus Kirchler and Jakob Schreiber, as well as Italian Marco di Marcello from Abruzzo. The president of the Abruzzo region, Marco Marsilio, issued an official retraction of an earlier statement in which he stated that di Marcello had died in Nepal, and apologized “in particular to his family for the distress and suffering.” In fact, there are reports from the family that di Marcello’s avalanche beacon showed some signs of movement, giving renewed hope that the Italian climber could be found alive. Di Marcello is a dual citizen of Italy and Canada, which contributed to contradicting reports as to the nationality of those missing in the avalanche.
Dreamers Destination wrote that only Paolo Cocco has been confirmed as deceased, while two other team members, Marco Di Marcello and Padam Tamang, remain missing. All other members of this expedition are safe in Kathmandu. One member was rescued this morning and is currently hospitalized. “We kindly request that no unverified information be shared at this time,” the trekking company wrote on its social media accounts.
Unfortunately, we do have confirmation of the death of foreign climbers Christian Manfredi and Paolo Cocco. Christian Manfredi was one of three Frenchmen in the Yatri Trekking group and was hit by a rock during the avalanche, killing him instantly, according to his ex-wife Anne-Marie Falletta. He was hiking with his wife, Isabelle Solange, and his friend Didier Berton. 41-year-old Cocco hails from Abruzzo, Italy, and was a passionate photographer and previously mayor of Fara San Martino.
Deceased guide Mere Karki was an experienced guide from Solukhumbu, Nepal. He had been guiding the two men from South Tyrol/Munich and was known to speak German. He had been working as a guide since 1997.
Rescuers are continuing their search for the four missing climbers. A 50-member joint rescue team comprising the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police has been deployed in Dolakha to assist recovery operations at Yalung Ri. Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks has been leading the search and rescue efforts.
