Dozens of Israeli trekkers trapped in a brutal Himalayan snowstorm were rescued Wednesday from the remote village of Samdu, Nepal, after whiteout conditions and cyclone-driven winds cut off the Everest region from both the Nepali and Chinese sides.

The dramatic rescue came amid worsening weather that has claimed aircraft, stranded hundreds of hikers, and forced authorities to shut down major trekking routes across the Himalayas, including parts of Annapurna, Manaslu, and Dhaulagiri — home to some of the world’s highest peaks.

The Israeli hikers were evacuated from Samdu, near Nepal’s northern border, to the lower-altitude village of Samagaun, where they awaited further extraction, the Walla news site reported. At least one trekker was airlifted by helicopter to the town of Lukla for emergency medical care.

“At some point we realized we didn’t understand where the route was,” said Israeli trekker Yair Liberman, who spoke to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster from the scene. “There were about 150 travelers stuck in a line. There was panic. The storm was getting stronger and people left their bags behind. It could have ended much worse.”

Many of the hikers, Liberman said, were suffering from altitude sickness, exhaustion, and hypothermia as temperatures plummeted and visibility vanished. Rescue operations were carried out under severe conditions, with responders battling heavy snowfall and high winds that made even short-distance helicopter flights treacherous.

The storm, fueled by Cyclone Montha, swept into Nepal and the Everest region on Tuesday, dumping feet of snow and triggering avalanches, blizzards, and a helicopter crash near Lobuche, not far from Everest Base Camp.

Video footage released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal showed the aircraft slipping on snow during landing and collapsing on its side. The pilot survived and was later rescued, but it remained unclear whether the stranded trekkers the helicopter was attempting to reach were safely evacuated.

Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said rescue teams had already guided hundreds of trekkers to safety in Manang district, while others were still trapped along snow-choked trails.

“About 1,500 hikers, including 200 foreigners of various nationalities, their guides, and local porters, had lost their way as the hiking trails were buried under deep snow,” Basnet said.

Authorities in Nepal have now suspended trekking across the Everest region and issued a blanket warning for hikers to avoid travel until conditions stabilize, with meteorologists forecasting more heavy snow through Friday.

The Nepali and Chinese sides of the Everest range have both been closed to tourists due to what officials described as “life-threatening conditions.” The combination of rain at lower altitudes and snow at higher elevations has left mountain villages isolated, with reports of power outages and supply shortages.

For the Israelis rescued in Samdu, the situation remains fragile. Many are still awaiting evacuation to Kathmandu once weather allows helicopters to fly safely again.

“There was a moment when we thought we wouldn’t make it out,” one hiker told local reporters. “People were collapsing in the snow. The rescuers saved our lives.”

Nepali authorities have urged all foreign embassies to account for missing nationals, warning that conditions in the upper Himalayas remain too dangerous for new rescue attempts until the weather clears.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)