Kathmandu - A Polish climber was killed in Nepal's part of the Himalayan mountain range, making him the first casualty of the spring climbing season, the Nepalese government said Thursday.

Piotr Morawski, 37, died after falling into a crevasse on Dhaulagiri on Wednesday, the Tourism Ministry's Mountaineering Department said.

Morawski was making his way between different camps on the mountain to acclimatize when the accident happened at around 5,600 metres.

The mountain has seen unusual amounts of snow and weather and visibility had been bad at the time of the accident, the ministry said.

The 8,167-metre Dhaulagiri is the world seventh highest peak. It was first scaled by members of a Swiss-Austrian expedition in May 1960.

Nepal's spring climbing season starts from April and last until the end of May.

The majority of expeditions attempt to reach the summits from mid- to the end of May after spending several weeks on the mountain acclimatizing.

A total of 63 expeditions have received permission to climb mountains in the Nepalese Himalayas in the current season, Tourism Ministry said.

Twenty-five expeditions received permission to climb world's highest peak, Mount Everest.

Nepal has opened 326 peaks for climbers. (dpa)