Avalanche survivor 'was lucky' as rescuers search for bodies of dead climbers

A French climber has said she was "lucky" to survive an avalanche in which her husband died, as rescue teams work to recover the bodies of seven people killed in the Himalayas on Monday morning.

Isabelle Solange Thaon, one of two French climbers who survived the avalanche at the Mount Yalung Ri base camp, said she lost her husband, identified as Christian Manfred, on the mountain. Ms Thaon, 54, said she and Didier Armand, who were both flown by helicopter to the Era Hospital in Kathmandu, "were lucky because we were on the left".

Speaking from her hospital bed, she said they climbed and swam until "we were in the snow and after someone came immediately (to help). "Unfortunately, Christian died...

It was not possible because of rocks hit his head," she said, adding she was lucky because she was not covered by the snow piled up by the avalanche. "The other people were under the snow, they said they think it was 6m (20ft) under snow, so it was completely dead in front.

It was not possible to help them." Workers began digging through ice and snow on Tuesday to reach the remains of the group buried. The search area is located at a little over 4,900m (16,070ft), up the peak, which measures 5,600m (18,370ft) and is considered suitable for beginner climbers.

Snowstorms prevented rescuers from reaching the site on the day of the avalanche, but in improving weather, a helicopter reached the base camp on Tuesday, allowing rescuers to begin digging through the snow and ice. Four climbers who were injured in the avalanche were rescued by the helicopter and flown to the capital Kathmandu for treatment, Dolkha district police chief Gyan Kumar Mahato said.

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