Early-season snowfalls trap hikers near Mount Everest in China

BEIJING (AP) — Early-season snowfalls have stranded hikers in two mountainous areas in western China, including several hundred at the base of Mount Everest, and forced the closing of trails in a third.

In neighboring Nepal, a South Korean climber died after getting caught in a storm while ascending a Himalayan peak just south of Everest.

The severe weather struck in the middle of a weeklong national holiday in China, when many flock to national parks and other tourist sites. One person died and more than 200 others were evacuated after hiking into a remote part of Qinghai province.

Western China is dominated by the Tibetan plateau, a vast elevated area stretching from the Himalayas on the border with Nepal to Qinghai province and the Xinjiang region in the north. It is known for its scenic, snow-capped mountains and crystal-clear lakes and is the source of the Yangtze, Mekong and other major rivers that flow down to nearby countries and other parts of China.

Snow and lightning on a slope of Mount Everest

What a hiker described as an intense snow and rainstorm stranded tourists on Mount Everest over the weekend. As of late Monday, 350 people had managed to descend and more than 200 others were gradually being guided and helped to a meeting point, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report.

The hikers were staying overnight in tents at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,076 feet). Mount Everest, standing 8,850 meters (29,000 feet) tall, straddles China and Nepal. The Chinese side is at the southern edge of Tibet.

A hiker identified only by the surname Dong told a Chinese newspaper that he had never encountered such a severe storm with heavy snow and lightning flashes. The precipitation started Saturday afternoon and intensified dramatically during the night, Dong said in an online article from the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald in Hunan province.

In Nepal, the South Korean climber was initially reported missing over the weekend near the summit of Mera Peak, a 6,476-meter (21,250-foot) mountain in the northern Himalayan range. The Nepal Mountaineering Association confirmed his death Tuesday and said other climbers have been reported safe on the mountain, which is popular during the autumn climbing season.

Risky hike inspired by social media

Searchers were looking Tuesday for any remaining hikers in the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai province, where one died of hypothermia and altitude sickness and 213 others had been evacuated since Sunday.

Many people undertook the hike into the rugged and undeveloped area after learning about it on social media, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Search efforts that included drones were launched Sunday after some hikers reported being trapped in Laohugou, a valley in Menyuan county. The search in an area with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) was complicated by the terrain, unpredictable weather and continuous snowfall, state media said.

As the situation unfolded, the Menyuan county government issued a notice prohibiting hiking in the area, saying the hikers had entered illegally.

North of the Tibetan plateau, the Kanas scenic area in the northwest corner of China closed Tuesday after a snowstorm Sunday that stranded motorists on a nearby highway, state media said.

The road in the Xinjiang region, near the border with Kazakhstan, had been cleared by Monday.

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Associated Press writer Binaj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu, Nepal, contributed to this report.