Rescuers have retrieved the bodies of five South Korean climbers and their four Nepalese guides who died in a storm that destroyed their base camp on Gurja Himal mountain.

Two helicopters brought eight of the bodies to Kathmandu from the mountain after the weather cleared.

The body of one of the Nepalese guides was flown to his village.

Nepal Mountaineers Killed
Family members of the Nepalese guides as bodies of those killed in Gurja Himal mountain arrive at the Teaching hospital in Kathmandu (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

Grieving family members gathered at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Nepal’s capital where the bodies were taken for autopsies before being handed to their families.

The storm swept the camp on Friday night, and word of the destruction got out Saturday morning.

Helicopters were not able to land due to the continuing bad weather, but villagers reached the base camp on Saturday evening and found the bodies.

The climbers were attempting to scale the 23,590ft peak during the autumn climbing season.