Wed 5 May 2021 09.37 EDT
Last modified on Mon 17 May 2021 04.37 EDT
Nepal’s decision to allow people to continue to climb its Himalayan peaks as a vicious Covid-19 wave sweeps the country was dealt a further blow after 19 more climbers tested positive for the virus.
Now it has emerged that 19 people – foreign climbers and sherpas – have tested positive at the base camp of Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh highest mountain and part of the same range as Everest.
Mingma Sherpa, the chair of Seven Summit Treks, who is running an expedition at Dhaulagiri base camp, confirmed that four climbershad been flown to Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, on Tuesday after they were found to be positive in rapid diagnostic tests at the camp.