The Nepali and Chinese sides of the Everest region were closed to tourism on Wednesday due to unseasonally heavy snow, and a helicopter crashed in deep snowdrifts as it tried to rescue stranded trekkers.

Visited by thousands of trekkers and climbers, the region around Mount Everest has been blanketed by snow since Monday as a cyclone from the Bay of Bengal churned across India, ushering in a second bout of severe snowfall in the Himalayas this month.

Authorities in Nepal have halted trekking on many hiking routes due to rain at lower elevations and heavy snowfall on higher trails, and have urged hikers not to venture out or proceed with their treks in the Annapurna, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri areas, home to some of the world’s highest peaks.

A small private helicopter flying to Lobuche near

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