Nepalese sherpas have closed Everest to commercial climbing amid mounting anger over pay and conditions following the deaths of 13 colleagues.

The strike by sherpas has stranded more than 330 foreign climbers at Base Camp at the start of the six-week climbing season, most of whom have paid $50,000 (£30,000) to scale the peak.

There is growing tension between the wealthy climbers and sherpas, who feel they are being exploited to work in extremely dangerous conditions for relatively low pay.

Their colleagues had been fixing routes and carrying equipment for climbers through the ice fall above Base Camp for the spring climbing window when an avalanche swept them away.

At a tense meeting held at Everest Base Camp on Sunday night, about 300 sherpas and