Rakesh Gurung, from Nepal’s tourism department, said the team went missing late on the evening of Oct 6 during an attempt to summit the 8,167m-high Himalayan peak.

“Five dead bodies were discovered by a helicopter rescue team,” Gurung told AFP. “They fell from 7,700m.”

He said one climber who quit the summit attempt had been rescued from the mountain and had “been admitted to hospital” in the capital Kathmandu.

Hundreds of people from around the world travel to the Himalayas each year for the autumn climbing season in Nepal.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks and foreign climbers that flock to its mountains are a major source of revenue for the country.

The rapid growth of the climbing industry has created fierce competition among companies for business and also raised fears that some are cutting corners on safety.