The avalanche hit a group of 12 people on the 5,630-metre (18,471-foot) Yalung Ri peak on Monday morning, said Gyan Kumar Mahato, a senior police official in Dolakha district.

Of the three dead, two are Nepali and one is a foreigner, Mahato said, citing local people at the scene. He did not specify the nationalities of the dead and missing foreigners.

Media reports said up to seven people had died in the avalanche, and that Americans, an Italian and a Canadian were among the dead.

Bad weather in Dolakha district delayed rescue efforts, but a helicopter has now landed in the vicinity and search and rescue operations will be carried out Tuesday morning, Mahato said.

Home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, Nepal welcomes hundreds of climbers and trekkers every year.

Autumn expeditions on the Himalayan mountains are less popular because of the shorter, colder days, snowy terrain and a narrow summit window compared to the busy spring.

Last week, Cyclone Montha triggered heavy rain and snowfall across Nepal, leaving trekkers and tourists stranded on popular Himalayan trekking routes.

Two Italian climbers have also gone missing while scaling a remote peak in western Nepal, tourism officials said Monday