Rescue teams save about 100 stranded Israelis from Nepal blizzard

One hiker in serious condition was flown to safety by helicopter.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

About 100 Israeli hikers were rescued Wednesday from a blizzard in Nepal that had left them stranded since the previous day.

Rescue teams from the PassportCard insurance company managed to reach the mountain village of Samudra and brought the large group out on foot to a village at a lower, safer altitude, where there were more resources to help them and more accessible routes that could enable them to leave more easily.

While almost all the hikers were in good condition, one person who was in serious need of medical treatment was evacuated by helicopter.

Yair Lieberman, who was hiking with four friends, told the Kalman-Liberman radio show, “At some point we realized we didn’t understand the way up [the mountain]. There were about 150 travelers stuck in the line. There was panic, the storm was getting stronger, people left their bags behind. It could have ended much worse.”

Another stranded Israeli, Roy Levi, told Ynet Tuesday night that his group was “stuck in a Nepali village at 4,000 meters. There’s more than half a meter of snow, and backpacks are buried. People here are panicking, especially the girls.”

“People nearly died today trying to reach the pass,” he said. “This storm is insane…. Nepali porters abandoned bags along the way and fled without them.”

Some of his fellow travelers, he added, were suffering from altitude sickness or pain as a result of the grueling climb.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Department for Israelis in Distress Abroad said that it had begun receiving inquiries Tuesday from Israelis traveling in the area and from families who reported difficulties contacting loved ones whose routes had been blocked by the accumulation of snow.

The ministry said it was in constant contact with medical and rescue teams in the area, and that none of the hikers were in danger, as they were “in huts rather than open areas.”

The rescue took place in the morning to better ensure the safety of the travelers, the ministry added.

The Israelis’ evacuation was the only one completed in the morning, as the storm was not yet over.

When weather conditions improve, other rescue operations will reportedly commence immediately, with Passportcard saying helicopter evacuations would take place from three villages in the affected Dharmasala region.

Weather reports have noted that a cyclone is predicted for Thursday.