Huge rescue on Everest

Huge rescue on Everest
Kathmandu - Helicopters have begun airlifting foreign tourists from a group of 2 500 stranded by heavy fog in the Everest region, an official said on Saturday, but the rescue has been hampered by the poor weather.

Officials were forced to close the only airstrip serving Lukla, the gateway for trekkers and mountaineers heading to Everest and surrounding mountains, on Wednesday, grounding all flights in and out of the region.

Around 120 of the stranded trekkers have so far been ferried back to Kathmandu by privately-owned helicopters from a village 90 minutes' walk away, said Utsab Kharel, the manager of Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla.

"The weather situation has further deteriorated in Lukla. The visibility is almost zero and there is no possibility of resumption of regular flights today," he told AFP.