17 Bodies Recovered on Everest After Avalanche Caused by Earthquake

An avalanche on Mount Everest has been set off by the Nepal earthquake. Seventeen bodies were reportedly discovered after the deadliest disaster in the history of mountaineering.

Seventeen bodies have been discovered on Mount Everest base camp, after the severe earthquake in Nepal caused an avalanche, Reuters reports.

The death toll from an avalanche on Mount Everest triggered by Saturday's massive earthquake in Nepal has reached 65, CNN-IBN reported Sunday citing the Indian army.

The majority of the victims are foreign nationals, according to the news channel.

Some 1,000 climbers are currently awaiting evacuation. The rescue operation is complicated by adverse weather conditions.

Sixty-one people were injured because of the avalanche, according to the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Ang Tshering Sherpa.

A first helicopter which is to evacuate the injured, took off from Kathmandu on Sunday morning, after the delay caused by cloudy weather, Sherpa said.

Oover 2,000 people were killed by the earthquake, including those who died under avalanches on Mount Everest, which is located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Kathmandu.

India, Tibet and Bangladesh were also affected by the quake. India's Minister of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday that 36 people were confirmed dead in the country after the earthquake in neighbouring Nepal.

A number of world nations, including India and Russia, have offered to help Nepal in its emergency relief efforts, allocating financial aid or rescue teams.