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Climbers Stranded On Mount Everest After Nepal Earthquake Airlifted By Rescue Teams

Rescue Teams Airlift Climbers Stranded On Everest
Reuters
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This photo provided by Azim Afif, shows a small avalanche on Pumori mountain as seen from Everest Base Camp, Nepal on Sunday, April 26, 2015. On Saturday, a large avalanche triggered by Nepal's massive earthquake slammed into a section of the Mount Everest mountaineering base camp, killing a number of people and left others unaccounted for. Afif and his team of four others from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) all survived the avalanche. (Azim Afif via AP)

(Adds death of Japanese climber)

KATHMANDU, April 27 (Reuters) - Mountain rescue teams, helped by clear weather, used helicopters to airlift climbers stranded for two days at high altitude on Mount Everest after a powerful earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed at least 17 people.

Romanian climber Alex Gavan said on Twitter that three helicopters had reached camps 1 and 2, which are at altitudes of more than 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). Each helicopter is only capable of carrying two climbers due to the thin air, Gavan said from base camp.

Carsten Lillelund Pedersen, a climber from Denmark, posted a video on Facebook showing a helicopter landing to evacuate two climbers and then taking off again 30 seconds later. The weather conditions were clear.

Survivors on Everest described a cloud of rock and ice that smashed into base camp on Saturday. More than 60 people were injured, leading climbers to send frantic messages calling for helicopter assistance to evacuate the wounded.

An estimated 100 climbers and guides were safe but trapped at camps 1 and 2 by Saturday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake which rendered the treacherous Khumbu icefalls leading up to them from base camp impassable.

Japan's foreign ministry on Monday said a Japanese man was among those killed on the Everest, the fourth foreign national claimed by the avalanche.

Three Americans were killed, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday, including a Google engineer, a medic and a filmmaker. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu and Andrew MacAskill in New Delhi; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Malini Menon)

Before You Go

Deadly Earthquake Rocks Nepal
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Novice Buddhist monks light candles and offer prayers for victims of Nepal's earthquake, in Bodhgaya, India, Sunday, April 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Manish Bhandari) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Hindu Nepalese woman offers prayers at Indrayani temple, that was damaged in Saturday's earthquake, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Volunteers and emergency workers search for bodies buried under the debris of one of the temples at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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A mother holds her child in an evacuation area set up by the authorities in Tundhikel park on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Volunteers clear debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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A volunteer walks on top of the debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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A rescue team member sits on top of the debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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A resident sits on the ground in an evacuation area set up by the authorities in Tundhikel park on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Rescue team members search for bodies in the debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Residents line up for food in an evacuation area set up by the authorities in Tundhikel park on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Volunteers and rescue team members clear debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Nepalese soldiers carry a wounded man to a waiting Indian air force helicopter as they evacuate victims of Saturday's earthquake from Trishuli Bazar to Kathmandu airport in Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Nepalese soldiers unload relief material brought in an Indian air force helicopter for victims of Saturday's earthquake at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Indian woman Padma holds a photograph showing her son Bharat and daughter in law Partima with whom she has not been able to establish contact after Saturday's earthquake in Nepal, during a prayer ceremony for the earthquake affected at a Hindu temple in Jammu, India, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A woman walks barefooted towards the hold area after she was evacuated at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A man sits with a child on his lap as victims of Saturday'ss earthquake, wait for ambulances after being evacuated at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Victims of Saturday's earthquake lie on stretchers as they wait for ambulances after being evacuated at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Victims Saturday's earthquake wait for ambulances after being evacuated at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Members of Nepalese army rescue a dead body from inside a building that collapsed in Saturday's earthquake, in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Nepalese residents gather in an open space at the site of destruction caused after Saturday's earthquake in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A man walks past damage caused by an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this image from an AP video, people search among the rubble of buildings in Kathmandu after the earthquake hit the area on April 25, 2015. (AP video via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this photo provided by Guna Raj Luitel, an injured woman is carried just after the earthquake in Kathmandu, April 25, 2015. (Guna Raj Luitel via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Injured people receive treatment in Kathmandu, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Tashi Sherpa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Injured people receive treatment outside the Medicare Hospital in Kathmandu. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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People walk past damage in Kathmandu, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A man carries a dog and walks past damage caused by the earthquake in Kathmandu, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A group of people gather outdoors as the earthquake hits Kathmandu on April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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People gather near a damaged building in Kathmandu, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Tashi Sherpa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A building stands damaged, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Volunteers help with rescue work at the site of a building that collapsed, April 25, 2015. (AP Photo/ Niranjan Shrestha) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Houses collapse after tremors from the Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015 in Tibet Autonomous Region of China. (ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Houses collapse after tremors from the Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015 in Tibet Autonomous Region of China. (ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Emergency rescue workers search for survivors in the debris of Dharahara Tower after it collapsed on April 25, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Kathmandu residents run to shelters after a replica tremor hit the city on April 25, 2015. (Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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Emergency rescue workers find a survivor in the debris of Dharahara Tower after it collapsed on April 25, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Omar Havana/Getty Images) (credit:Omar Havana via Getty Images)
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An Indian patient receives treatment at Siliguri Hospital following the earthquake in Siliguri on April 25, 2015. (DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:DIPTENDU DUTTA via Getty Images)
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Border officers search for trapped people in Gyirong County of Xigaze Prefecture in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015, in Tibet Autonomous Region of China. (ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Nepalese people wheel an injured man into an open area at Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on April 25, 2015. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PRAKASH MATHEMA via Getty Images)
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Nepalese people walk past a collapsed building in Kathmandu on April 25, 2015. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PRAKASH MATHEMA via Getty Images)
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Nepalese rescue members gather at the collapsed Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu on April 25, 2015. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PRAKASH MATHEMA via Getty Images)
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