Singaporeans among 86 tourists trapped on Mount Everest
AsiaOne
TIBET - Affected by the heavy snow, 86 tourists, including some from Singapore, were trapped on Mount Everest.
On Monday (Oct 14), Cyclone Phailin, the massive cyclone that covered virtually the entire Bay of Bengal, brought snowstorms, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
As a result, several tourists from various countries were stranded on Mount Everest.
Apart from some Singaporeans, among the 86 stranded were tourists from Australia, the Netherlands, France, Indonesia, Russia, Japan, the United States and Spain, the evening daily said.
An Australian tourist, Susan, said the many tourists stranded from the Everest Base Camp to Rongbuk Monastery were suffering from varying degrees of altitude sickness.
The Tibetan government had sent a rescue team and as of Oct 15 at around 2pm, all the 86 tourists have been brought to safety.
The tourists will then make their own travel arrangements.
Susan expressed gratitude to the Tibetan government, saying: "The doctors, workers and police sent by the government have been extremely helpful."
According to the Tibet Autonomous Region Meteorological Bureau, heavy snowfall in southern Shigatse (Xigaze) is gradually letting up.
However, the Namco area is still plagued by heavy snowfall, and roads to the scenic areas are jammed with vehicles and tourists.
Staff members working there are persuading tourists to turn back.