The avalanche struck early on the morning of Sunday, September 27, at Himlung Himal base camp in Narpa Bhoomi Rural Municipality-5 in Manang District, near the border with Tibet. Himlung Himal stands 7,126 metres (23,380 feet) tall.
The victims were expedition workers, cooks, support staff and mountain guides who were getting the camp ready for foreign climbers. Those climbers had not yet reached the site. Every person killed or missing was a Nepali national.
Mukti Prasad Khanal, the chief government administrator of Manang District, said rescuers brought two bodies and 10 survivors down from the mountain by helicopter to a nearby town on the day of the avalanche. About 16 workers and support staff were reported to be in tents at base camp when the snow hit.
The camp was buried under roughly 14 feet (about 4.3 metres) of snow. In a statement, the guide association called the avalanche "exceptionally large."
Days of heavy rain and snowfall across Nepal's mountain districts came before the disaster. Flooding and landslides were also reported in Manang.
Early counts of the dead and missing shifted as the search went on. On September 28, Deputy Police Superintendent Shailendra Thapa said "12 people went missing after the avalanche and two were later found dead on the peak, leaving 10, all of them Nepalese nationals, unaccounted for."
That same day, rescuers recovered two more bodies, identified as Birendra Gurung and Ghanshyam Rai. The guide association said that "after extensive search efforts under extremely difficult conditions, four bodies were recovered, while 12 cook staff remain missing at Himlung Base Camp."
A rescue team led by Mingma G. Sherpa, an IFMGA-certified guide and founder of Imagine Nepal, was flown by helicopter from Chame to the base camp on September 28. "We recovered four bodies, making it clear that no one survived," Sherpa said.
Search efforts were paused on September 29 because of severe weather and the sheer volume of snow. Teams resumed the next day and recovered three more bodies on Wednesday, September 30, bringing the total to seven, with nine still missing.
A specialized team sent by the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA) dug tunnels into the deep snow pack and successfully recovered the remaining 8 bodies on Oct 1, 2026. This brings the final count to 15 confirmed dead and 1 worker who remains missing.The victims identified so far are Chhebi Bhote and Pasang Bhote of Sankhuwasabha district; Birendra Gurung, 30, of Gorkha district; and Ghanshyam Rai of Khotang district. Also identified are Aash Gurung, 58, of Dharche Rural Municipality-2 in Gorkha district; Suraj Rai, 21, of Aiselukharka Rural Municipality-3 in Khotang district; and Kalam Budha, 57, of Hukam in Rukum district. The names of the eight people recovered Thursday have not been made public.
Himalayan Holidays Nepal coordinated the recovery operations. Prabhu Helicopter and Heli Kailash supported the effort. Himlung Himal requires an additional permit for helicopter flights, which adds to the difficulty of reaching the mountain.
