KATMANDU, Nepal -- An avalanche swept Mount Everest's slopes on Friday along a popular route used to climb the world's highest peak, killing at least 12 Nepalese guides and leaving three missing in the worst disaster to hit climbers on the mountain, officials told CBS NEWS Friday morning (April 18).
The Sherpa guides had gone early in the morning to fix ropes for other climbers when the avalanche hit them just below Camp 2 at about 6:30 a.m., Nepal Tourism Ministry official Krishna Lamsal said from the base camp where he was monitoring rescue efforts.
Rescue workers pulled out 12 bodies from under mounds of snow and ice and were searching for the three missing guides, Lamsal said.
Two Sherpas who were injured were taken by helicopter to hospitals in Nepal's capital, Katmandu.