Another Sherpa guide has died in Friday 's Mount Everest avalanche , bringing the death toll to 13 , a Nepalese government official said Saturday . It is the single deadliest accident on Mount Everest , officials said . Three others are missing , said Madhu Sudan Burlakoti of Nepal 's Tourism Ministry , and at least half a dozen are injured . A group of about 50 people , mostly Nepali Sherpas , were hit by the avalanche at more than 20,000 feet , said Tilak Ram Pandey of the ministry 's mountaineering department . The avalanche took place just above base camp in the Khumbu Ice Fall . Climbers and guides had been setting the ropes for the route , acclimating and preparing the camps along the route when the avalanche hit Friday , said Gordon Janow with Alpine Ascents International in Seattle . All 50 to 60 climbers were Nepalese locals and Sherpas who were taking food and supplies to the camps , Pandey said . The climbers are all now accounted for , Pandey said . `` Rescue teams have gone ... to look for the missing . '' ' I did not think I would survive ' One of those who survived is Wangdi Sherpa , 26 , who was working with trekking firm Summit Treks to take 13 Britons to climb Everest . He recounted how he and others were going to set up Camp II , above base camp , when disaster struck -- and it was only by chance that he was not among the victims . `` A big piece of ice suddenly came off the mountain . I did not think I would survive . I am very happy to have survived , '' said Wangdi , who has reached the mountain 's summit three times before . He and an assistant , who were attached to a safety rope , hid behind a piece of ice as the avalanche came tumbling down , he said . `` We could do that because we were in the front , '' he said . `` Up to 12 of those behind us survived , but the ones after them died . Those who had already crossed ahead when the ice came off also survived . `` We stayed behind the ice for five minutes . By the time we reached base camp it was around 11 a.m . When the ice fell we saw nothing because of the dust , '' Wangdi said . 'There is always a risk of death ' This latest accident occurred during the spring climbing season , the busiest of the year . Climbers arrive in April to acclimate to the altitude before heading toward the summit of the world 's highest mountain . Ethnic Sherpas act as guides for the mostly foreign clients . Now the question is whether the planned expedition will go ahead in the wake of Friday 's tragedy . `` The Sherpas and the clients are not in a condition to talk to each other at the moment , '' said Jeewan Ghimire , of Shangri La Treks . Four of his Sherpas are dead after the avalanche and one is missing . `` It could take a week more before a decision on whether the climb will go ahead will be taken , '' he said . According to Ghimire , `` A distance is being maintained between the two sides . The clients will have to accept the decision of the Sherpas . '' `` Our friends and brothers have died . There will be no question of doing anything without a discussion with everyone involved , '' said Pasang Sherpa , who also has been to Everest before . `` This is our job , so there is always a risk of death . We can not say that there has been exploitation . '' About 334 foreign climbers have been given permission to climb Everest over the next couple of months , with an estimated 400 Sherpas helping them , mountaineering official Dipendra Poudel said Friday . From May 15 to 30 is usually the best window for reaching the 29,028-foot peak . Lakpa Sherpa , who has twice reached the summit of Everest , lost his cousin Ang Kaji Sherpa on the mountain on Friday . Despite that loss , he said safety standards have improved by 80 % on what they were 10 years ago , because the Sherpas are better trained . He added , `` There is always a risk in this job . '' The deadliest year was in 1996 . Before Friday , the deadliest single-day toll was from an accident in May 1996 , when eight climbers disappeared when a huge storm hit . Their tragic story was chronicled in Jon Krakauer 's bestselling book `` Into Thin Air . '' The deadliest year on Everest was 1996 , when 15 people died . Another 12 climbers were killed in 2006 . Until the late 1970s , only a handful of climbers reached the top each year . The number topped 100 for the first time in 1993 . By 2004 , it was more than 300 . In 2012 , the number was more than 500 . Climbers , widow recount deadly traffic jam on Everest . On top of the world in 1963 . Everest by the numbers .
Sherpa : `` A big piece of ice suddenly came off the mountain '' No decision made on whether to go ahead with the climb , says trek organizer . There are now 13 people confirmed dead and three missing , an official says . This is the single deadliest accident on Mount Everest ; the deadliest year was 1996 .