At least nine climbers died after an avalanche on Sunday while they were trying to climb Manaslu peak in Nepal, local media reported.

The climbers died when they were buried by the avalanche as they were having breakfast in base camps at around 9.00 a.m. local time, Gorkha District Police Office said according to nepalnews.com website.

The climbers were mostly foreigners from France, Germany and Italy, along with local Sherpa guides, according to the police. Two of the dead were named as Christianmetteu Meyer, a German citizen and Babu Dorje Sherpa of Nepal, Gorkha police chief DSP Basanta Bahadur Kunwar told Nepalnews.com.

Rescue teams have been hampered by the remoteness of the site, located at an altitude of some 7,000 meters (22,000 feet) and around 100 km away from the nearest police district headquarters.

"Seven dead bodies have been collected and rescuers are searching the missing persons," Kunwar quoted Simrik Air officials as saying.

Four helicopters have taken rescue teams to the site to search for the missing, The Himalayan Times reported.

Earlier, rescue teams rescued 12 tourists alive from the incident site. Four persons are still missing, he added.

Manaslu, 8,156 meters (26,915 feet) is the world's eighth highest peak.

© RIA Novosti.

Causes of avalanches