Seven Italian climbers still missing in Nepal

Italy says seven of its citizens are missing in Nepal after trying to climb a Himalayan peak in the north-east of the country.

Officials said the Italian team was at the base camp of Dolma Khang peak, which has an elevation of 6,332m (20,774ft), in Dolakha district.

Three other Italian climbers have been confirmed dead this week, including in an avalanche that struck close to Dolma Khang on Monday.

A senior Italian diplomat from neighbouring India has arrived in Kathmandu to coordinate with the Nepalese authorities and search teams.

Nepal has been hit by avalanches and ferocious storms in the past week, killing and injuring a number of climbers and their local guides.

"At this stage, the local authorities have confirmed the deaths of three Italian climbers," Rome's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"There remains no news of seven other Italian nationals, including Marco Di Marcello and Markus Kircheler."

The foreign ministry said both Mr Marcello and Mr Kircheler were in the Yalung Ri area, where Monday's avalanche struck. Italian Paolo Cocco was among seven climbers who were already confirmed to have died near the Yalung Ri base camp.

On Tuesday, Mr Marcello's family told Italy's Ansa news agency that his satellite radio signal was continuing to update and appeared to be moving.

A Nepali tourism official, Ram Krishna Lamichhane, told the BBC they had been in contact with rescue teams searching the base camp at Dolma Khang peak, which was hit by an avalanche.

"According to the information we have, five people, including three foreign climbers and two Nepali guides, are missing in the Dolma Khang base camp area," Mr Lamichhane said.

There have been conflicting reports about the number of dead and missing climbers in the area in recent days, as well as their nationalities.

Mr Lamichhane added that they were also coordinating with the trekking agency that had organised their expedition to Dolma Khang to find out more details on the missing.

As well as Paolo Cocco, the bodies of two other Italian climbers who went missing while attempting to scale the Panbari peak in western Nepal have also been recovered.

Stefano Farronato and Alessandro Caputo were part of a three-man group that became stranded along with three local guides last week.

The group had been granted permission to climb the 6,887m peak, but were reported missing when they lost contact with the base camp following heavy snowfall on 28 October.

The third member of the group, another Italian man, was rescued along with one sherpa.

Autumn is a popular season for trekkers and mountaineers in Nepal as weather conditions and visibility have tended to be better. However, the risk of severe weather and avalanches remains.

Last week, Cyclone Montha triggered heavy rain and snowfall across Nepal, stranding people in the Himalayas.