616 from 42 countries take climbing permit

SOLUKHUMBU: A total of 616 mountaineers belonging to 70 groups have taken permit from the Nepal government to scale the mountains.

Mountaineers from 42 countries including Nepal have taken permit to climb as many as 20 mountain peaks including Mt Everest, said Nepal Tourism Board.

A total of 300 mountaineers including 12 Nepalis from 30 different groups took permission to climb Mt Everest alone as of Wednesday.

Those taking climbing permission are 251 are men and 49 are women representing 42 countries. The Indian nationals top the list with 67 – 57 men and nine women.