By Ryan Woo
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -More than 200 remaining trekkers trapped by a snowstorm over the weekend near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet are being evacuated, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
The evacuation began on Monday and should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who asked to remain unidentified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
The Tibetan regional government did not have immediate comment on the evacuation.
Earlier, some 350 other trekkers stranded by the blizzard in the remote valley of Karma in Tibet had been guided to safety by local rescuers.
Trekkers to the Karma valley that leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest swelled to the hundreds in recent days, spurred by the eight-day National Day holiday in China.
Snow started falling in the valley, which lies at an altitude averaging 4,200 metres (13,800 feet), on Friday evening and continued through Saturday.
The Karma valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region. Unlike the peak’s arid north face, it boasts lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests, fed by meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier at the foot of the world’s highest mountain.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
