Kathmandu, Sept. 27 -- At least six Nepali support staff are missing after an avalanche struck the base camp of Himlung Himal in central Nepal, where climbers and expedition staff were preparing for a mountaineering expedition, organisers said on Sunday.

Sherpas and kitchen staff were fixing ropes and setting up tents at the 7,126-metre mountain for an expedition team from the United Arab Emirates scheduled to arrive on October 1 when a torrent of snow and rock swept down the mountainside.

Barun Bhandari, general manager of Himalayan Holidays, the company organising the expedition, said at least six Nepalis who were at the base camp were missing, CNN reported.

"We heard this morning that six or seven of our crew is missing but we are yet...