At least nine Nepali mountaineering guides were killed at the start of the main climbing season when an avalanche swept a slope of the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest, on Friday, local officials said.

An official at the Tourism of Ministry of Nepal said the avalanche occurred in the most popular route to Mt. Everest's peak, killing the nine Nepali guides and injuring three other mountaineering guides. Some people were also missing.

Like Us on Facebook

Tilak Ram Pandey, an official of the mountaineering department at the country's Tourism Ministry, said the avalanche took place when hundreds of foreign and Nepali climbers started their journey to the peak of the mountain.

It was the first avalanche to have occurred during the climbing season, Pandey said, adding that the barrage of snow and ice hit the mountaineering guides, locally known as Sherpas, who were situated between Base Camp and Camp 1 Friday morning.

During the climbing season, hundreds of mountaineers from around the world come to Nepal to attempt to climb the peak of Mt. Everest, which is 29,035 feet high. Climbers, however, are required to hire a Sherpa to guide them towards the peak.

Local officials said rescuers on foot and onboard helicopters have already been deployed to the avalanche area to rescue the injured Sherpa and the search for the reported missing persons.

Considered as the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest became an attraction to mountaineers around the world since the day Sir Edmun Hillary and his Sherpa reached its summit in 1953. More than 4,000 mountaineers have reached the top of Mt. Everest since then.

At least 250 people have also died while attempting to scale the world's highest peak, which has been described by mountaineers as treacherous and highly dangerous.

TagsMt. Everest Avalanche, Mount Everest