Hyderabad: A Hyderabad-based mountaineer reported to be missing near the base camp of Mount Everest where hundreds of other foreign climbers are stranded after an avalanche triggered by Nepal’s massive earthquake swept down the highest peak on Saturday.

Poodata Neelima, a software engineer of Mehdipatnam, left for the mountaineering trip on April 21 with a team of 21 climbers from across the country and went missing. Neelima’s father Sowraiah could only connect with the Bengaluru Mountaineering Association on Saturday and was informed that Neelima was safe. But he failed to connect Neelima after that.

Meanwhile, IAF helicopters on Sunday morning reached Mount Everest for the rescue operations. The Mountaineering Association said it was trying to airlift surviving climbers out of the base camp. “Neelima told us that they had been experiencing snowfall but after that we were not able to connect her,” Sowraiah said in a choked voice.

Nearly 1,200 mountaineers are stranded at the base camp, according to reports. Bad weather frustrated efforts to rescue climbers. “According to personal calls made by some of the mountaineers, we came to know that most of them are stranded at this point,” he added.