The family of Italian mountain guide and biologist Marco Di Marcello said on Friday that the search for him in the Himalayas of Nepal has been suspended, with his death now considered virtually certain.

Di Marcello, 37, from Teramo in the Abruzzo region, had been missing since Monday after an avalanche swept through an international expedition on Dolma Khang Peak, a 6,332-metre summit in Nepal. The disaster has already claimed seven lives, including that of Italian photographer Paolo Cocco, 40, from Fara San Martino in the province of Chieti.

“We received the bad news that the search for Marco was suspended this morning from one of the rescue team coordinators, Manuel Munari, with whom we are in contact by telephone,” said Marco’s brother, Gianni Di Marcello. “At this point, his death is almost certain.”

The avalanche struck amid extreme weather conditions that have battered the Himalayas in recent days, killing several climbers and disrupting multiple expeditions. Italian authorities have confirmed that at least three Italian mountaineers have died in Nepal during the recent storms, while two others remain missing and are feared dead.

On Thursday, Italy’s foreign ministry announced that contact had been re-established with a separate group of five climbers from the province of Como who had lost communication during the same period. The ministry said its consulate in Calcutta confirmed, through both Milan and Nepalese travel agencies, that the group is safe and plans to return to Italy from Kathmandu on 8 November.