Quake-triggered avalanche kills Nepal mountain guide

KATHMANDU, Nepal – An avalanche triggered by an earthquake Monday in a mountainous area of Nepal killed a Sherpa mountain guide and injured a British climber who had to be rescued by helicopter, expedition organizers said.

The magnitude-5.4 earthquake sent people fleeing from their houses and caused snow and ice to roll down the slopes of Mount Ama Dablam, located just south of Mount Everest.

The Sherpa guide and British climber were hit by falling chucks of ice at an altitude of about 6,000 metres (19,680 feet) on the mountain, said Iswari Paudel of Himalayan Guides Nepal, which organized and equipped the expedition.

A rescue helicopter used long ropes to pull them off the mountain, Paudel said. The guide died on the way to the base camp and the climber was flown to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.

Their identities weren’t immediately released.

Last year, an avalanche triggered by a powerful earthquake killed 19 people at the base camp of Mount Everest and injured 61 others. The country is still recovering from the devastating quake, which killed nearly 9,000 people and damaged nearly 1 million houses and buildings.

Nepal’s National Seismology Center said Monday’s quake was located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of Kathmandu.

Police said there were no other reports of casualties, but because the quake hit a remote, mountainous area, it could take time for reports to come in.