Lhasa, Oct 16 (IANS): Four people, including an Australian tourist, were killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest earlier this week, local authorities confirmed Wednesday.
A tour group organised by the Tibet Longda International Travel Agency entered a restricted area on Mount Everest without permission and camped at the foot of the mountain Sunday night, Xinhua reported citing sources in the government of Dingri county in Xigaze prefecture in Tibet.
The group, consisting of four Australian tourists accompanied by six Tibetans, was hit by an avalanche at night, the sources said.
The victims include three local porters and a 60-year-old Australian man, the sources said.
Rescuers Monday evacuated 86 tourists from a base camp on Mount Everest and a nearby monastery where they had been stranded by heavy snow.