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Hikers have recounted encountering "harsh" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Officials in China stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of individuals at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme weather I've ever faced in all my trekking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, describing a "intense snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the accumulation had nearly covered the peak," shared a hiker on a social platform. "That was the first time I genuinely experienced the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as snow rapidly built up around their tents, compelling them to clear it hourly. They decided to descend on the next day as the weather worsened.

"On the way, we encountered our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the snow was heavy in the lowlands too; locals, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted tents covered by snow and rows of hikers walking through deep snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

At least 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the reports indicated. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from blocking the exit route.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the storm had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is limited. The conditions also appears to have have affected local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a peak season for the area, with typically calm and pleasant conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had not experienced such weather in October. And it occurred very abruptly."

The local tourism authority announced ticket sales and access to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.