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Hikers have recounted facing "extreme" conditions after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue operation.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China stated that around 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, stranding hundreds of individuals at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme weather I've ever faced in all my trekking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang said on social media, detailing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and saw that the snow had almost covered the top," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the snow was intense in the valley too; locals, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than locations on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of tourists for easier hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet showed tents covered by snow and rows of hikers walking through deep drifts to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Local news reported that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the way out.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the weather had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The weather also appears to have have affected local communications, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a busy period for the area, with usually clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had never encountered such weather in the fall. And it happened very abruptly."

The local tourism authority said admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.