3 missing after avalanche on world's 3rd highest peak

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Nepalese officials say an avalanche has swept three climbers and they are now presumed dead on the slopes of Mount Kanchenjunga, the world's third tallest peak.

Police official Meghraj Kadel says rescuers found no trace of an Indian climber and her two Nepalese Sherpa guides after they were hit by the avalanche at 23,940 feet on Wednesday.

The Indian was identified as 35-year-old Chanda Gayen, and her guides Temba and Dawa Wanju. They scaled Kanchenjunga on Sunday and were attempting to climb Yalung Kang, a sister peak.

In April, an avalanche hit a trail on Mount Everest, killing 16 Sherpa guides in the mountain's worst disaster that led to the cancellation of the climbing season because many Sherpa guides refused work.