Everest Climber Warns 'More To Die' Without Help

At least 10 people have been reported killed after an earthquake triggered a "huge avalanche" which swept through Everest base camp.

Romanian mountaineer Alex Gavan said there had been a "huge disaster" on the world's highest peak and pleaded for rescue helicopters to be sent before more of the injured died.

"Helped searched and rescued victims through huge debris area. Many dead. Much more badly injured. More to die if not heli asap," he tweeted.

Earlier he described "running for life from my tent" as the avalanche hit.

Images from Everest showed belongings scattered on the ground and snow covering tents.

A Nepal tourism official said part of the Everest base camp had been buried.

"We don't have the details yet, but 10 have been reported dead so far, including foreign climbers," Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha said.

Google executive Dan Fredinburg, who described himself as an adventurer, was confirmed as having been killed in the avalanche.

Mr Fredinburg had been hiking with three other Google employees. Google confirmed the three others are safe.

Mr Fredinburg's sister, Megan, wrote on his Instagram page: "I regret to inform all who loved him that during the avalanche on Everest early this morning our Dan suffered from a major head injury and didn't make it.

"We appreciate all of the love that has been sent our way thus far and know his soul and his spirit will live on in so many of us.

"All our love and thanks to those who shared this life with our favorite hilarious strong willed man. He was and is everything to us."

Captain Tim Bradshaw, who is leading a British Army team climbing the world's highest peak, told Sky News his tent started to "rock and move" as the earthquake hit.

"Then, almost like thunder, huge boulders started to break around us from the side of the mountain and roll down towards the bottom, towards base camp," he said.

"Everyone here is fine ... but we are on the other side of the mountain away from the Nepal side, quite away from the epicentre."

Ang Tshering, of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said the avalanche apparently happened between the Khumbu Icefall, a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow, and the base camp.

About 700 climbers are in the Solukhumbu region that includes Everest, and about 300 of them are believed to be at base camp.

"We are trying to reach them to see if they are safe, but the phones are not working," deputy superintendent of police Chandra Dev Rai said.

Arjun Vajpai, who filmed himself at a camp on Mount Makalu elsewhere in the Himalayas, said there had been "a big few avalanches".

"From here we had quite a bit of rockfall," he said.

"Most of our team is okay, we are doing well, some of our team members just moved up today towards camp one and camp two. We still do not have any report from them, we are trying to get in touch with them."

Hundreds of people have been killed in Nepal after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake toppled buildings.