Three Sherpas missing on Mount Everest

They were traveling between the base camp of the world’s highest mountain and its first high camp with mountaineers’ luggage when an avalanche hit them, a spokesman for the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism reported on Wednesday. So far, unsuccessful attempts have been made to find the men with a helicopter. They probably fell into a 50 meter deep crevasse.

Currently, Everest is in peak season, starting in April and ending in June, when there are most likely good “weather windows” for climbing the mountain on the Nepal-Chinese-administered Tibet border. So far this season, 197 climbers have received permits from the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism to climb for $11,000 each, the agency said. According to the Kathmandu Post, the number is likely to increase significantly.