Tourists Stranded in Mount Everest base camp rescued

Shreedeep Rayamajhi November 07, 2011

Kathmandu Nepal: In an ordeal to fight against Nature, around 500 tourists who were stranded from the past 6 days due to bad weather at the Tenzing-Hillary Airport Lukla were airlifted by the collaborated effort from the Nepali Army and private sector on Sunday.

The numbers of tourist stranded there is estimated to be around 3000 who were eagerly waiting for their turn to be airlifted to the valley. The joint fly operation included more than 53 flights from Lukla and Surka to the capital.

According to Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN), “TAAN has been lobbying with the concerned government agencies to rescue stranded trekkers and their support staff members at the earliest. We’ve already deposited Rs 2 million in Nepal Army’s bank account. They’ve promised us to operate MI 17 chopper from tomorrow to airlift stranded trekkers. About 3,000 tourists returning from their trek to Everest Base Camp along with their guides and supporting staff members are stranded in Lukla as bad weather continues to disrupt flights to Tenzing-Hillary Airport.”

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) , about 150 tourists have been airlifted from Surke – an hour downhill from Lukla – to Manthali, while about 1,000 have started a long trek to Jiri from where road transportation is available. Flights to and from Lukla – the gateway to Everest – have come to a halt since six days owing to bad weather.

The weather continued to worsen and air visibility was very poor where no flights were possible. It is believed that weather conditions will start improving from Monday.

Source: http://www.rayznews.com