Nepal, April 7 -- As the spring trekking and expedition season begins, industry officials warn that fake rescue scams are threatening Nepal's mountaineering reputation, urging the government to act swiftly - particularly on widely circulated "poisoning" claims they say have been blown out of proportion by national and international media.

The first agency to respond was the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), a specialised unit of Nepal Police.

The CIB has dismissed reports alleging that guides in the Everest region were "poisoning" tourists to trigger fraudulent rescue operations, saying investigations so far have found no evidence to support such claims.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, the bureau said its attention had been ...