The search resumes this Monday, November 1 to try to find the three young French climbers, originally from Isère, missing after an avalanche on a summit in the Everest region.
Where is the research?
"The research will continue today," said Monday Pratap Jung Pandey, general manager of Kailash Helicopter Service, whose device deposited on Sunday experienced mountain guides to try to find the French mountaineers.
"Something like a bag or a black object has been spotted on the side of the mountain," he added.
Also Sunday, a helicopter had already spotted tents and equipment in the flow of an avalanche.
"I am also visiting the region at the moment," said Ang Norbu Sherpa, president of the National Association of Nepalese Mountain Guides, now in charge of relief operations, which "will continue today".
What do we know about the three climbers?
The three Isérois are all in their twenties, and belong to the Groupe Excellence Alpinisme National (GEAN), an elite French group.
They are part of a group of eight people who left France on September 30 to reach the Khumbu region (Everest region), and climb several peaks between 5 and 6,000 m altitude south of Mount Ama Dablam (6,814 m).
Where did they go?
The three climbers who are the subject of research today left together on October 24 to climb a chute on the west face of Mingbo Eiger (6,017 m), a summit near Ama Dablam.
On the evening of the 26th, contact was established by satellite phone from the bivouac where the climbers were installed: "The first day of climbing went smoothly," says the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM).
Except that since then, the three French have not given any news.
Research is therefore focused in this area, where the flow of an avalanche has been spotted.
Did they have an authorization?
Tarka Raj Pandey, deputy director of police, also claimed that a liaison officer was dispatched to the scene to assess the situation.
On Sunday, an official from the Nepalese tourism ministry said these climbers had not requested the necessary authorization to embark on this climb.
An assertion rejected by Pralhad Chapagain, of Holiday Himalaya Trek and Expedition, the agency in charge of this expedition as well as by the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs.