Lhasa, Oct. 15 (China National Radio) — According to China National Radio’s “News Horizon,” heavy snowfall occurred near Mount Everest Base Camp in Dingri County yesterday. Within a short period, the snow depth reached 70 to 80 centimeters, leaving 86 Chinese and foreign tourists stranded on-site. As of early this morning, the 86 stranded tourists were all in relatively good health. Most have been safely evacuated to the nearby Rongbuk Monastery, while the smaller number still on the mountain have also been properly accommodated.
As the snow continues to fall, local government departments plan to move the tourists to the county town at the foot of the mountain overnight. How did the stranded tourists spend the night? Will they be able to return home safely?
Zhong Yu: Currently, most tourists have been evacuated to Rongbuk Monastery, which is 3 kilometers from the base camp. There are a few two-wheel-drive vehicles, but the road conditions are still not passable, so they haven’t been able to get out yet.
At 1 a.m. this morning, Ms. Zhong Yu, a Beijing tourist stranded at Mount Everest Base Camp, described the situation to reporters. She said that currently, the tourists are not in life-threatening danger, their emotions are relatively stable, and there is sufficient food:
Zhong Yu: Some foreign tourists may be a bit nervous as it’s their first time at high altitude. Some of their visas (passports) will expire tomorrow, and they need to exit through the Zhangmu Port, so we are helping them resolve the time-sensitive issues. I think the domestic tourists are all relatively calm, with just one or two experiencing mild altitude sickness. The county officials who came up also brought a doctor, there’s oxygen available, and food shouldn’t be a problem.
Ciduo, deputy head of Dingri County who is directing the rescue operation on-site, said that because the snowfall is continuing, they plan to move the tourists to the county town overnight:
Ciduo: The snow is still falling, and the roads are somewhat icy, so we’re experiencing traffic jams in both directions. We’re actively taking measures—sending machinery up and down—to clear the roads. If the road downward becomes passable, our initial plan is to evacuate everyone overnight. But these are all uncertain factors.
Ms. Zhong, one of the stranded tourists, said that even if they can’t be moved to the county town, food and heating are not an issue at Rongbuk Monastery.
According to Ms. Zhong, snow began falling at Mount Everest Base Camp at 1 p.m. on the 13th and hasn’t stopped since:
Ms. Zhong: The deepest snow is about 1 meter. Last night, the snow collapsed four tents at the tent guesthouses near the base camp. We originally planned to stay for several days, but now the government has required everyone not to remain at the base camp due to safety concerns, so we are being evacuated to Rongbuk Monastery.
Xu Jianhua, senior engineer at the Tibet Autonomous Region Meteorological Observatory, said that due to the influence of the expanding cloud system from Typhoon Phailin, it is expected that until 8 a.m. tomorrow, the southern part of Shigatse region will continue to experience heavy to blizzard snowfall.
Given this situation, Ciduo, deputy head of Dingri County, advised that tourists planning to visit the area in the near future should closely monitor weather conditions:
Ciduo: We recommend that, based on the weather forecast over the next couple of days, you do not enter Mount Everest Base Camp for the time being, as road conditions are indeed quite poor. It’s already difficult for those inside to get out, and the situation for those trying to come in is even more uncertain.