The Nepali and Chinese sides of the Mount Everest region were closed to tourism on Wednesday due to unseasonally heavy snowfall, while a helicopter crashed in deep snowdrifts during a rescue attempt.

Visited by thousands of trekkers and climbers each year, the region has been blanketed by snow since Monday as a cyclone from the Bay of Bengal swept across India, bringing the second severe Himalayan snowstorm this month.

According to Nepal’s Tourism Department, trekking has been halted on multiple routes due to torrential rain at lower altitudes and dangerous snow buildup on higher trails. Authorities have urged hikers not to continue their journeys in the Annapurna, Manaslu, and Dhaulagiri regions — home to some of the world’s highest peaks.

A small private helicopter en route to Lobuche, near Everest Base Camp, crashed while attempting a landing in deep snow, said Gyanendra Bhul, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Footage released by CAAN showed the helicopter slipping on snow and tipping onto its side. The pilot survived and was rescued, though it remains unclear whether the stranded trekkers were reached.

Weather experts have forecast continued heavy rain and snow through Thursday and Friday, as Cyclone Montha — which struck India’s Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday — moves northward into the Himalayas.

On the Tibetan side of Everest, the Tingri County Tourism Department confirmed that ticket sales were suspended on Tuesday as roads became icy and visibility plunged, making travel impossible. Officials have not confirmed whether any tourists remain stranded in Tibet’s Everest region.

Meteorological data indicates temperatures in Tingri will fall further below freezing this week, worsening conditions for rescue and recovery efforts.

Earlier this month, a blizzard stranded hundreds of trekkers near the eastern face of Everest on the Tibetan side — all of whom were safely rescued after several days in sub-freezing conditions.

Meanwhile, in Nepal, more than 50 people have died this month due to floods and landslides triggered by the same storm system, underscoring the growing climate instability across the Himalayas.