Italian Annapurna climber is dead

The climbers were approaching the summit

An Italian mountaineer has been killed and three others injured when an avalanche hit their base camp on Mount Annapurna in west Nepal, officials say.

Officials have named the dead man as Christian Kuntner. They said that one of those injured was in a serious condition after Wednesday's avalanche.

The dead man and his injured colleagues were taken to Kathmandu by helicopter.

They are the first casualties in the Annapurna region during the spring climbing season.

Personal record

"The climbers were at a height of 6,600m (21,780 feet) when the avalanche struck them," trek organiser Dambar Parajuli told the AFP news agency.

One of the climbers in the 10 member Italian team told the Himalayan Times newspaper that it struck as they were approaching the summit.

He said that both the dead and seriously injured man were planning to reach the summit of Annapurna by Wednesday afternoon.

If they had been successful, the two men would have achieved the personal record of having climbed all 14 peaks above 8,000m.

Around six foreign climbers and a Sherpa guide received minor injuries when an avalanche struck their base camp on Mount Everest -the highest peak in the world-- early this month.

They too were brought to Kathmandu by helicopter to receive medical treatment.