11.   Quinley said the service would use a high-altitude helicopter to reach the injured climbers as soon as weather improved.

12.   Rescuers set out on foot, in helicopters and in snow vehicles to reach the injured climbers.

13.   Two critically injured climbers were transported to a hospital by early afternoon.

14.   Two South African mountaineers on Sunday stopped their ascent short of the Mount Everest summit to assist a badly injured climber, a local press agency said.