Rescue teams, including Japanese searchers, are digging through snow to look for survivors after an avalanche struck the Himlung base camp area in Nepal's Himalayas. The source material available gives no confirmed figures on casualties or missing climbers, so the scale of the disaster is unclear. Avalanches are a recurring danger during Nepal's climbing seasons, when foreign expeditions and local guides gather at high-altitude camps that support the country's mountaineering industry.