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Trekkers have recounted facing "harsh" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue operation.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Officials in China stated that around 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed heavy snowfall had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker stated on social media, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had almost buried the peak," shared another trekker on a social platform. "That was the first time I genuinely experienced the fear of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as snow rapidly built up around their shelters, compelling them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on the next day as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide's father who had searched for him. It was then we learned the snow was intense in the lowlands as well; locals, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted tents buried in snow and rows of trekkers walking through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 people had reached Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.

At least 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Local news reported that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting or updated information about the rescue effort on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The weather also seemed to have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. Several trekkers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the region, with typically clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"Our leader said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in the neighboring country.