Photo: Tamish Giri/NBA

May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms.

According to the BBC, the number of positive tests among climbers has been rising. This has raised fears of a serious outbreak at the base camp, BBC reported on Wednesday (May 5).

Base camp officials said they had received confirmation of 17 positive cases from hospitals in the capital Kathmandu, BBC further reported.

A number of climbers have been reportedly sent to those hospitals from the base camp and higher camps for treatment.

Staff at CIWEC Clinic, a private clinic in Kathmandu, confirmed to the BBC that patients had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Everest base camp.

According to the news report, the Government of Nepal has so far denied having any knowledge of positive cases at Everest base camp raising concerns that officials are downplaying the extent of the situation out of fear it will bring more pressure to close the mountain to expeditions.

Foreign climbers are a major source of revenue for the Nepalese government, which shut Everest last year during the pandemic.

According to the state-owned national news agency, RSS, as many as 294 summiteers of 42 groups have been granted permission for climbing the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, this year.