Nine months after an avalanche swept seven climbers to their deaths on Yalung Ri in Nepal, the families of the five victims whose bodies remained missing finally have answers. The bodies of the five climbers were discovered by locals on August 6, 2026, after seasonal snowmelt exposed their remains near the mountain which rises to approximately 5,630 meters (18,470 feet). They have since been recovered and identified and will be repatriated home.
On November 3, 2025, a major avalanche struck near Yalung Ri in Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley as several international groups were around the mountain and the base-camp area. Three separate expedition groups were in the area when the avalanche struck: Dreamers Destination Treks & Expeditions had a team that included three foreign guests and five Nepali guides, while Yatri Trekking had three French guests accompanied by guides. Wilderness Outdoors Nepal had another group in the area, including at least two foreign climbers and local guides. Several members of the groups survived the avalanche and were rescued, while seven people were ultimately killed.
On November 5 , two bodies were recovered, that of Italian photographer Paolo Cocco and French climber Christian André Manfredi. However, five people remained missing: Marco Di Marcello and Markus Kirchler from Italy, Jakob Schreiber from Germany, and Padam Tamang and Mere Karki from Nepal. A team of international and Nepalese mountain rescuers searched the avalanche debris using specialized equipment, including RECCO detectors, but could not reach the buried climbers. The search was eventually suspended on November 7 after rescuers determined that the snow had become too hard to excavate safely. The five missing climbers were presumed dead, but their families were left without the certainty that comes with recovering a body.
Nearly nine months after the avalanche on August 6, 2026, locals spotted several bodies as the snow melt was finally releasing the victims at approximately 5,400 meters (17,700 feet) in the Rolwaling region. Local authorities sent a police team by helicopter the following day, but poor weather prevented the bodies from being recovered. A recovery operation was subsequently organized by Dreamers Destination Treks and Wilderness Outdoor, led by Phurba Tenjing sherpa, who had been trying to locate the five missing climbers since June.
Weather conditions improved on Sunday, August 9, allowing rescue teams to make in total seven attempts to reach the site. The operation was conducted in extremely hazardous conditions, and the bodies were eventually recovered and transported as far as Na village in the Rolwaling region. Worsening weather then prevented the team from taking them farther. The five bodies were flown from Na to Kathmandu by helicopter on Monday, August 10. Police Inspector Santosh Kumar Khadka, information officer at the District Police Office in Dolakha, confirmed that all five had been identified.
Kirchler’s identification has brought particular closure to his family and community in South Tyrol, Italy. The 29-year-old from San Genesio, near Bolzano, had been missing since the November avalanche. His family traveled to Kathmandu to complete the identification process after his body was recovered.
Di Marcello, 37, was an Italian-Canadian biologist and mountain enthusiast from the Abruzzo region of Italy. He was part of the Dreamers Destination Treks & Expeditions team and had been preparing for an expedition in the Rolwaling region.
Schreiber was a German climber, while Tamang and Karki were Nepali mountain guides. According to police, the bodies of the three foreign climbers and one of the Nepali guides will be taken to Kathmandu and handed over to their families after the necessary procedures. Tamang’s body will be taken to Charikot for a post-mortem examination before being returned to his family.
The recovery brings the Yalung Ri avalanche death toll to seven, with every victim now accounted for. The recovery operation was led by Nepalese mountaineer Phurba Tenzing Sherpa, with Dreamers Destination Treks and Wilderness Outdoor involved in the effort. For the families of the five climbers who remained on Yalung Ri through the winter, spring and summer, the long wait is finally over as their bodies have now been identified and will be repatriated home.
