Climbers in lucky escape from deadly avalanche

Italian climbers Christian Gobbi and Silvio Mondinelli have told of their lucky survival after being caught in an avalanche that killed at least 11 people on a Himalayan peak in Nepal in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mr Gobbi and Mr Mondinelli were sleeping in their tent when they heard a strange sound, followed by strong gusts of wind. A few seconds later, snow flooded their tent and sent it tumbling down the mountainside.

Emerging from their tent, all they could see were torn pieces of tents and stray boots after the snow destroyed their camp. Dozens of climbers had been sheltering just below the peak of the 26,781ft Mount Manaslu.

“We went down with the tent and stopped about 800ft below,” Mr Gobbi, 42, said yesterday after being rescued by helicopter and flown to the Nepali capital, Kathmandu.

“After about an hour we discovered one of our Italian team members and a very strong sherpa guide had died in the snow.”

Nepali rescue helicopters have now halted their search for three foreign climbers who are still missing. They are believed to be two French nationals and a Canadian.