At 4听a.m. on听Thursday, a 300-foot section of Mount Everest鈥檚听Khumbu听Icefall collapsed, , who both work for Nepal-based .听
Reports indicate that听a听serac听fell onto the route, hitting the Sherpas. The full extent of their injuries isn鈥檛 immediately clear. According to , Ngima听Sherpa鈥檚 injuries were the most听severe and he had to be airlifted to听Norvic International Hospital in Kathmandu.听Dendi Sherpa is being treated at a听clinic set up at Base Camp by the Himalayan Rescue Association. Kuntal Joisher, an Indian climber who is on the Satori team, said via Facebook that听鈥淣gima's injury is more听on the ribs and he鈥檚 in听Kathmandu right now and doing good. And Tendi is in camp right now and resting and recovering for the next few听days.鈥澨
Climbers making acclimatization trips to higher camps usually make their way through the Icefall in the early hours of the morning, before the sun heats up the ice and makes the area more erratic and unstable. After the serac听collapsed, the damaged route was closed for two hours while a specialized team of听Sherpas, known as the Icefall Doctors, climbed to the location with听new ropes and ladders to make repairs.
The Icefall varies in width, from over half a mile to a听third of a mile. As with many听glaciers, the Khumbu moves as much as three听feet a day in the center, while its edges remain听still听due to friction听against rock walls. The top of the glacier moves faster than the bottom as well. It鈥檚听this dynamic of fast and slow听moving sections that creates ice seracs that are over 30 feet听high and crevasses, some of which are over 150 feet deep.
These towering pillars of ice can听collapse without warning. When they do,听ice particles, some the size of cars, explode听across the route. In 2014, a collapsing serac killed 16 Sherpas听who were waiting for a ladder to be replaced over a听crevasse as they were ferrying loads to the higher camps. In 1970, six Sherpas were听killed while supporting a Japanese expedition when a similar incident occurred.听