Bodies of two climbers recovered after ‘freak avalanche’ swept them down Himalayan mountain

The bodies of two climbers missing for more than a week have been found on the Himalayan mountain they were attempting to scale.A Nepali rescue mission discovered the remains of the Japanese men, named as Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto, on Mount Gangapurna in Manang, northwest Nepal.Evidence suggests the climbers had fallen nearly a kilometre (900m) in their final moments, with searchers believing a slab avalanche had swept them down the south side of the 7,455-metre high peak.The men had started their ascent on October 10, but were reported missing on October 15. A three-person experienced rescue mission was sent out and found the duo’s final camp, including a bag, rope and shovel at 7,000 metres.“As planned, we began searching from the southern side and located the bodies at 6,210 metres,” Pasang Rinzee Sherpa told Everest Chronicle.Mount Gangapurna in Manang mapped:Sherpa, along with his colleagues senior pilot with Altitude Air Sobit Gauchan and drone pilot Manish Maharjan, had been scouring the slopes for days.Helicopter pilot Gauchan dropped Maharjan and Sherpa on slopes above 5,000 metres, where they could send up a drone to survey higher ground.“This was an efficient, safe and cheaper option, which was a kind of experiment,” said Sherpa.Both climbers showed signs of severe injury and their bodies are being airlifted to a ⁠hospital in Kathmandu for postmortem before being released to their families.Kumar ⁠Chhetri of ​the Cosmo ⁠Adventure hiking ‌company that provided local logistics to ‌the Japanese climbers ‌said the bodies were recovered from ⁠Gangapurna West peak, which is 7,140 metres (23,425 ft) high.They were roughly 100 metres below the summit when they fell, Sherpa added.Slab avalanches are the most common type of slippage and happen when a sheet or block of snow breaks loose.It picks up speed as it slides down a slope, sweeping up everything in its path.Heavy snowfall and unusual weather patterns in the Bay of Bengal were blamed for a similarly catastrophic slab avalanche that killed at least four people in Manang in September.A sheet of snow 14 feet deep crushed the base camp of Himlung Himal peak last month, wiping out a team of climbers and local cooking staff.