European climbers flee Everest after confrontation with Sherpas

A British climber and two companions, confronted on Everest by an angry mob of Sherpas, are returning home after deciding they no longer feel safe enough to stay on the mountain.

Speaking from Lukla, the town that acts as gateway to the Everest region, Jon Griffith told of the moment when a group of up to 100 Sherpas confronted them about an argument higher up the mountain. "It was obvious there would be no talking or negotiation," he said. "They crested the ridge of moraine above our tent. They had pulled their scarves over their faces and instantly bent down to pick up rocks."

Griffith said that without the bravery of half a dozen other climbers at Camp 2, he and his two partners - the Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck and the Italian Simone Moro - would have been killed in the incident on Saturday.

An American eyewitness and others have said that the Europeans ignored a request from the Nepalese guides to wait during their climb of an untested ascent, and dislodged ice that hit the Sherpas below, sparking the clash at 6,500 metres. But Griffith put the incident down to underlying tensions and denied any ice could have hit the sherpas.

Griffith praised American climber Melissa Arnot, the only woman to have climbed Everest four times, who warned them an attack was imminent.

He said: "Melissa was a real heroine. She saved Ueli's life. Without her he'd be dead. She explained to us in our tent that there was a big mob out looking for us. She said something terrible must have happened. We explained that words had been exchanged but that was it. She stepped out of the tent for a moment and then shouted: 'They're coming, get out of here'."