10 mountaineers dead as quake triggers avalanche in Mount Qomolangma

At least 10 climbers and guides were killed and more are missing in the avalanche triggered by a massive earthquake swept across Nepal's side of Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest on Saturday.

The avalanche slammed into a section of the mountaineering base camp, and leaving an unknown number of people injured and missing, officials said.

Numerous climbers may now be cut off on routes leading to the top of the world's highest peak.

The avalanche began on Mount Kumori, a 7,000-meter-high mountain just a few miles from Qomolangma, gathering strength as it headed toward the base camp where climbing expeditions have been preparing to make their summit attempts in the coming weeks, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The avalanche plowed into a part of base camp, a sprawling seasonal village of climbers, guides and porters, flattening at least 30 tents, Tshering said. With communication very limited at Qomolangma, it was not immediately clear how many of those injured and killed were at base camp, and how many were elsewhere on the mountain.

According to a report from "West China City Daily", three were killed in the avalanche in a Chinese women climbing team, including one Chinese mountaineer and two Sherpa.

Survivors reached over Internet messaging services, however, described a scene of terror as the snow and ice roared through the nearby Khumbu Icefall and into base camp.

Dan Fredinburg, a Google executive who described himself as an adventurer, was among the dead, Google confirmed. Lawrence You, the company's director of privacy, posted online that Fredinburg was with three other Google employees hiking Mount Qomolangma. Fredinburg served as product manager and the head of privacy at Google X.

Hundreds of climbers, ranging from some of the world's most experienced mountaineers to relative novices on high-priced, well-guided trips, make summit attempts on Everest every year.

At times, when the weather is agreeable, dozens of people can reach the summit in a single day. But high winds, brutal cold, difficult terrain and massive avalanches can hit the mountain with little or no notice. Hundreds of people have died on the mountain over the years.