(April 25) AP 
 
 In this photo provided by Azim Afif, shows a man approaching the scene after an avalanche triggered by a massive earthquake swept across Everest Base Camp, Nepal. Afif and his team of four others... (Associated Press) 
 
 KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An avalanche triggered by a massive earthquake swept across Nepal's Mount Everest region on Saturday, killing at least 10 climbers and guides, slamming into a section of the mountaineering base camp, and leaving an unknown number of people injured and missing, officials said. Base camp is where journalists, climbers and their families gather and get news to the world about developments at Everest, the world's highest mountain above sea level. The avalanche began on Mount Kumori, a 7,000-meter (22,966-foot) -high mountain just a few miles from Everest, gathering strength as it headed toward the base camp where climbing expeditions have been preparing to make their summit attempts in the coming weeks, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. With communication very limited at Everest, it was not immediately clear how many of those injured and killed were at base camp, and how many were elsewhere on the mountain. Carsten Lillelund Pedersen, a Dane who was climbing the Everest with a Belgian, Jelle Veyt, said on his Facebook page that they were at Khumbu Icefall, a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow close to base camp at 16,500 feet, when the earthquake hit. Quickly, though, climbing teams scattered across base camp began to work together to search for survivors. The icefall, which is just above base camp, is a key route up the lower part of Everest. Nepal's Tourism Ministry could only confirm 10 deaths, but spokesman Gyanendra Shrestha said the death toll could rise, and that the avalanche had buried part of the base camp. Hundreds of climbers — ranging from some of the world's most experienced mountaineers to relative novices on high-priced, well-guided trips — make summit attempts on Everest every year. The magnitude-7.8 quake struck at around noon Saturday about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, just over a year after the deadliest avalanche on record hit Everest, killing 16 Sherpa guides on April 18, 2014. The numbers have skyrocketed in recent years, with more than 800 climbers during the 2013 spring season. The guides protested by refusing to work on the mountain, leading to the cancellation of last year's climbing season.
– Amid the sea of casualties in today's quake in Nepal are at least 10 that are garnering headlines of their own because of where tragedy befell them: on Everest. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the strongest to hit Nepal in more than eight decades, triggered a deadly avalanche in the Mount Everest region. NBC News reports the country's Tourism Ministry has thus far confirmed that 10 are dead, but the toll could very well rise. Indeed, USA Today reports an unknown number of people are missing, and the AP says some climbers may be cut off on routes leading to the summit. As for the scene at base camp, USA Today points to this from Danish climber Carsten Lillelund Pedersen: "Our Sherpas believe that a lot of people may have been buried in their tents." The AP spoke with Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association; he says at least 30 tents were flattened at base camp. Reuters quotes ministry officials as saying at least 1,000 people, about 40% of them foreigners, were on the mountain when the quake hit. The confirmed deaths establish today as at least the second deadliest day on the mountain. Exactly 51 weeks ago, 16 sherpas died on Everest, doubling the toll experienced in the previous worst day, the 1996 incident captured in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. The AP reports today's avalanche began on Mount Kumori, a 22,966-foot-high mountain just a few miles from Everest, and grew stronger as it barreled toward the base camp.