Nine of South Korean climbing expedition flung to their deaths in Nepal

KATHMANDU, (Reuters) - Five South Koreans and four Nepali guides on a Himalayan climbing expedition were flung to their deaths after a huge block of ice crashed over a cliff into a narrow mountain gorge, a helicopter rescue official said on Monday.

It was Nepal's worst such disaster since 2015, when 18 climbers were killed in an avalanche triggered by a massive earthquake at the base of Mount Everest.

The team attempting Mount Gurja, a 7,193 metre-high (23,600-foot) peak, was led by Kim Chang-ho, a veteran of the sport who had set speed records on 14 of the world's highest mountains. The accident appeared to have happened on Thursday or Friday, said Suraj Paudyal, a rescue official with the private helicopter company that was involved in retrieving the bodies, which were scattered over a wide area in the mountains.

“Some bodies were by the side of a cliff, while others lay in the ravine,” said Paudyal, one of the first to arrive at the site, adding that it was reached only by dropping a 100-metre (330-foot) -long line (rope) and harnesses from the helicopter.

Nepali authorities said they had no details of the incident, which happened in a remote area.

Nepal is arranging to send home the bodies of the South Koreans after post-mortems, said Surendra Thapa, a tourism ministry official.