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Hikers have described encountering "extreme" situations after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, stranding hundreds of individuals at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had nearly buried the top," shared another trekker on a social platform. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to remove it hourly. They decided to go down on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

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

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts large crowds of visitors for easier trekking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted shelters buried in snow and rows of trekkers moving through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

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

No fewer than 200 additional remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports indicated. Local news reported that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from obstructing the way out.

Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have affected phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the region, with typically clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "unusual."

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

The regional travel department announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.