A Mount Everest climber shared footage of deadly avalanche descending on Base Camp, killing and maiming dozens of alpinists and Sherpas. The one behind the camera does not realize till the very last moment the true danger of what’s happening.
The video lasting 46 seconds was made with an iPhone immediately after the first and most powerful tremor on April 25, at a camp where Everest climbers collect strength before their next advance towards the peak.
The man rushed out of a tent to take a look around after the quake and filmed the very moment of an avalanche walloping the tents.
“I was in shock and disbelief during this whole filming ordeal, not being aware that roughly 20 fellow porters, Sherpas and climbers had just died and about 50 had been critically injured in my immediate camp,” climber Chimu wrote in an annotation to the video.
The videographer survived the avalanche and together with HIMEX (Himalayan Experience) teammates took part in the subsequent rescue operation.
Another video taken in the Everest Base Camp shows the moment the avalanche came down. [WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE]
Climbers nearby begin scrambling, yelling and trying to warn others of the imminent avalanche. Caught off guard, people try to find some cover, but the wall of snow was quick and brutal.
Cursing profoundly, the German hides in front of a tent with no proper protection. Seconds later, the climbers are buried by a wave of snow. One can hear Kobusch and another man trying to catch their breath, as the climber goes into a state of shock.
The men in the video were lucky to survive, but the massive avalanche ended up killing some 20 people at the camp and injuring dozens of others. Rescue missions were launched, with the critically injured evacuated by helicopters. However, other rescue operations were hampered by bad weather, aftershocks and the fact that some 100 climbers were cut off from the Base Camp due to the collapsed Icefall route.
A new 6.7-magnitude aftershock hit Nepal at 07:09 GMT on Sunday, which unleashed another series of avalanches in the Himalayas.
An avalanche came close to hitting the base camp at Mount Everest as well, but luckily, fell just short.
Kobusch was not the only climber who ended up filming the terrifying passage that unfolded. RT’s video agency Ruptly obtained the helmet camera footage of Belgian climber Jelle Veyt, who also was at the Base Camp, located at an altitude of 5,364 metres (17,598 ft), when the avalanche smashed through it. AFP photographer Roberto Schmidt managed to grab a photo of the enormous wall of snow headed towards the camp, before running for his life
Over 3,300 people have been killed following the earthquake on Saturday, while more than 6,200 have been injured. Many hundreds are still unaccounted for.
International organizations and countries have been sending aid to Nepal. On Sunday, Russian, American and Canadian aircraft flew out with rescue teams onboard. Sweden has pledged $1.5 million in aid, with Canada vowing to send $5 million.
