Heavy snow from a blizzard has stranded hundreds of hikers who were on Mount Everest.
The hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 16,000 feet or about 13,000 feet from the top, The Associated Press reported.
The hikers were on the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, Reuters reported.
The snow, which started on Friday, the BBC said and where the adventurers were stuck, was about three feet deep and crushed some tents, one person who was able to scramble down the mountain told a Chinese online news outlet.
“Our windbreakers and raincoats were no match for the snow. We were all drenched,” nature photographer Dong Shuchang, said. He was there as part of China’s Golden Week holiday. “The lightning and thunderstorms would not stop. The snowfall was so heavy I could hardly sleep."
He and his group turned around at 15,091 feet, the BBC reported.
“Our windbreakers and raincoats were no match for the snow. We were all drenched,” he said, adding that about 20 people were showing signs of hypothermia.
He was experienced on the trail, saying that he had been to the Himalayas more than a dozen times, but “never experienced weather like this.”
Rescue crews used horses and oxen to help move up a path that was cleared to reach those who were not able to get down on their own.
About 350 hikers were taken to Qudang, while another 200 were in contact with rescue crews. The hikers’ camp is separate from the base camp for climbers who are trying to summit the mountain, the AP explained.
At least one person has died, the BBC reported.