Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet were guided to safety by rescuers, Chinese state media reported on Sunday, as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummelled the Himalayas.

As of Sunday, 350 trekkers had reached the small township of Qudang, while contact with the remaining 200-plus trekkers had been made, CCTV reported. Visitors to the remote valley of Karma, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, were in the hundreds this week, taking advantage of an eight-day National Day holiday in China.

“It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk,” said Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-strong trekking team that made it to Qudang.

“The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly,” Chen told Reuters.

Snow, thunder and lightning

Snowfall in the valley, which lies at an elevation averaging 4,200 metres, began on Friday evening and persisted throughout Saturday.

The remaining trekkers will arrive in Qudang in stages under the guidance and assistance of rescuers organised by the local government, CCTV reported.

Chen’s party descended from the mountains on Sunday and was greeted by villagers after enduring a harrowing evening of heavy snowfall combined with thunder and lightning. With tears in her eyes, Chen accepted their offers of sweet tea and the promise of warmth, she said.

“Back in the village, we had a meal and were finally warm.” Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams had been deployed to help remove snow blocking access to the area, where nearly 1,000 people had been trapped, according to an earlier report by Jimu News.

North face of Everest

The CCTV report did not say if local guides and support staff of the trekking parties had been accounted for. It was also unclear if trekkers near the north face of Everest, also in Tibet, had been affected or not.

The north face of Everest, due to its easy access by paved road, regularly draws large numbers of tourists. October is a peak season, when skies usually clear at the end of the Indian monsoon.

Ticket sales and entry to the entire Everest Scenic Area were suspended from late Saturday, according to notices on the official WeChat accounts of the local Tingri County Tourism Company.

To the south of Tibet in Nepal, heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges and killed at least 47 people since Friday.

Thirty-five people died in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district bordering India. Nine people were reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in the country.