Over 150 climbers stranded in Mount Qomolangma base camps

Trekkers stand in a Qomolangma base camp, approximately 5,300 meters above sea level, in Solukhumbu District, Nepal, in this file picture taken May 6, 2014.[Photo/Agencies]

KATHMANDU -- More than 150 mountaineers are still stranded in two base camps of the Mount Qomolangma following a powerful earthquake on Saturday in Nepal, a senior government official told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

"It has come to our notice over 150 climbers are languishing in the two base camps. We have intensified the rescue operation by deploying helicopters and medical teams. We are hopeful they can be rescued at the earliest," Chief Secretary of the Nepal government, Leela Mani Paudyal said.

The chief secretary said the government was making utmost efforts to rescue the victims of the earthquake at the soonest.

"We had dispatched six helicopters to the avalanche-hit area. But only two could function due to the bad weather condition," Paudyal said.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the quake-triggered avalanche in Mount Qomolangma has climbed to 19, and the nationalities of all the victims are not yet known.

Director General of the Nepal's Tourism Department, Tulsi Prasad Gautam confirmed that 19 climbers, including a Japanese national have been killed.

Over a dozen mountaineers are undergoing treatment at Pheriche village near Lukla, the home ministry officials said.