Beijing. Nearly 900 hikers, guides, and support staff stranded by a powerful weekend snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest have been brought to safety, Chinese state media reported late Tuesday.

The storm hit Saturday night, trapping hikers in tents at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet) and cutting off access routes. About 580 hikers and over 300 guides, yak herders, and other workers were stranded. Roughly 350 hikers descended by noon Monday, with the remainder reaching safety by Tuesday, according to local officials cited by state media.

Several hikers suffered from hypothermia, and rescue teams provided food, medicine, heating, and oxygen to about a dozen who were in critical condition, the Xinhua News Agency said. The scenic area on Mount Everest in China’s Tibet region has since been temporarily closed. The 8,850-meter (29,000-foot) peak, the world’s tallest, straddles the border between China and Nepal.

The storm coincided with China’s weeklong National Day holiday, which ends Wednesday and marks the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949.

In neighboring Nepal, a South Korean climber died over the weekend after being caught in a storm near the summit of Mera Peak, a 6,476-meter (21,250-foot) mountain south of Everest.

Early-season snowstorms also swept through other parts of western China, killing one person and trapping motorists on icy highways. In Qinghai province, more than 200 people were evacuated from a remote valley in the Qilian Mountains, where one person died of hypothermia and altitude sickness. Authorities have since warned against entering the undeveloped area without permission due to its treacherous terrain and unpredictable weather.

In northwest China’s Xinjiang region, the Kanas scenic area was temporarily closed after a Sunday snowstorm stranded motorists. Roads were cleared and reopened by Monday, officials said.

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