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Dramatic video shows the moment at which climbers on Mount Everest feel the ground shake as an avalanche strikes, burying them under piles of snow.

WATCH: Everest avalanche caught on video after Nepal quake


Leeanna McLean
Digital Reporter

Sunday, April 26, 2015, 5:05 PM - Dramatic video shows the moment at which climbers on Mount Everest feel the ground shaking as an avalanche strikes, burying them under piles of snow.

Saturday's devastating earthquake in Nepal sparked avalanches in the Himalayas, including Mount Everest, where at least 18 people were killed.

The initial earthquake, measured at magnitude 7.8 and struck around noon about 80 km northwest of the capital Kathmandu, levelling buildings and infrastructure. The death toll has surpassed 3,600 and continues to rise as search and rescue teams find more bodies under the endless piles of rubble.

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Video captured on Saturday, shows climbers at Everest base camp.

"The ground is shaking," one climber calls out. The others laugh in response. Seconds later the group of men start running as they witness a massive cloud of snow on their tail.

With no time left, in an attempt to take cover they hide behind a yellow tent. With a blink of an eye, the climbers are buried and are heard gasping for air.

"Are you OK," asks a climber. "Stay together, stay together," another climber shouts out.

The video was published on YouTube by German climber Jost Kobusch with the words, "The ground was shaking from the earthquake and as soon as we saw people running, we were running ourselves to save our lives."


Paul Hyrnko, a Winnipeg climber told CBC that two members of his alpine club were on the mountain when the avalanche hit.

He hoped they had been walking the trails at the time, which would have provided some type of protection for them.

First aid had been difficult to accesses.

"There's no roads, there's no motorized vehicles that are going to get into that area," he said. "Helicopters can reach that area but they can't get very much higher because of the thin air so that is a limiting factor as well."


VIDEO: Remarkable first-hand account from a survivor on Mount Everest

Among the 18 climbers who were killed was Google executive Dan Fredinburg, who died from a head injury.

Making matters worse was the poor weather, which hindered efforts to evacuate the wounded from the camp to hospital facilities in Kathmandu. The initial quake also damaged some helicopter search and rescue facilities, according to Quartz.

RELATED VIDEO: More Mount Everest avalanche footage caught on camera

SOURCE: Quartz

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