text: A filmmaker has revealed how he was pummeled with snow and ice for a minute and almost buried alive when the deadly avalanche hit Mount Everest on Saturday. Michael Churton from New York, was with four colleagues at the base camp, 17,500ft above sea level, when he was knocked down by the tsunami of snow. The 38-year-old believes that the force of the earthquake shook loose a big ice shelf, which careered down the mountainside towards him and a group of people he was with. Scroll down for video . Michael Churton from New York, was with four colleagues at the Mount Everest base camp, 17,500ft up, when he was knocked down by the tsunami of snow. He was knocked back and suffered facial injuries . Churton, 38, (right) from bids good-bye to fellow survivors Mariusz Malkowski from New Jersey (center) and Ron Nissien from Australia after their return to the domestic airport in Kathmandu, Nepal . Churton described how he told his group to get down just before the snow devastated the base camp (pictured) He said: 'I told the group to get down. It was about 4,000 feet of snow just coming and there was nowhere to run.' As the wall of snow approached, he got into the fetal position and hoped for the best. The force hitting his body knocked him into a rock, leaving him with some facial injuries. After the mountains of snow had passed, he managed to dig himself out and began searching for colleagues. He eventually made his way down from the mountain and was greeted by fellow survivors at a domestic airport in Kathmandu. At least 17 people who were on Mount Everest at the time have died while others are still unaccounted for. Other Americans who were on Mount Everest when it was hit by a deadly avalanche have described the moment the wall of snow and ice hit their camp and the carnage that surrounded them during the aftermath. Nick Cienski, from Baltimore, who is still at base camp told Good Morning America: ‘We're doing really well out here. We were really fortunate that we were hit by the edge of it. ‘It was terrifying. When we looked up and saw this thing coming... it was like out of a Hollywood movie, it was huge. ‘We hunkered down in our tents and just prayed... The whole tent was just moving in the wind. It was incredibly terrifying. We had no idea if we were going to be ripped off the ground and flung into rocks. ‘[Afterwards] We got out of our tents and realized we were largely OK. We immediately started looking for survivors. [Says they’re doing well] ‘We've got clean water. We've got good sanitation. We've got lots of food because we're planning to be here for a couple of months.' Scott Holder, a financial adviser from Santa Rosa, California, and Jon Reiter, a contractor from nearby Kenwood in Sonoma County, were caught up in the deadly avalanche. Reiter, who was making his third attempt at the summit, called is wife Susan by satellite phone, The Press Democrat reported. He described how he was given medicine to give to the injured, but one doctor told him: 'Don't worry, you are just comforting these people. Most of them are not going to survive.' Saying he had a 'pretty rough day' Saturday, he added during an interview with CNN that he was forced to zip a dead body into a sleeping bag. She then posted on his blog about what had happened. 'He said that the ground shook for a very long time and that avalanches were happening one right after another on the mountain, ' she wrote. 'We just talked for a minute and he got off the phone because he and his climbing partner Moises are helping with the rescue effort. Jon and Moises don't have medical training but they are acting as medics because so many people are injured. Jon Reiter, a contractor from Kenwood, California, was attempting his third ascent to the summit when the avalanche hit. He described how he tended for the injured even after doctors told him there is little chance they will survive . 'He said that most of base camp was damaged. All the IMG (International Mountain Guides) group tents are being used as temporary medical facilities for the injured. ' Jon also spoke to CNN on Sunday, saying: 'We're feeling pretty lucky today.' Holder managed to escape the carnage - having to leave the mountain with a severe head cold one day before the earthquake hit. He said: 'God definitely had his hand in my survival. My cold took me out of the danger zone. I guess you could say God gave me a cold.' Ashleigh Stumler from Charlotte, North Carolina, thought she was getting dizzy as she hiked on Mount Everest, but a guide soon informed her it was an earthquake. She told WSOC that she was forced to hang onto a tree as the earth shook. Ashleigh Stumler from Charlotte, North Carolina, thought she was getting dizzy as she hiked on Mount Everest, but a guide soon informed her it was an earthquake . As she makes her way down from the mountain, she is hoping to help survivors and is gathering contacts in the United States in a bid to raise funds. 'These have been some of the most incredible, strong people I've ever met in my entire life. Just good people and they are in dire need of help.' Melissa Arnot, who was set to be only the second woman to climb Everest without oxygen checked in via satellite phone to say her team was safe on Saturday. Among mountaineers thought to have died in the disaster is 33-year-old Google executive and a former medical student doctor offering care at the site while a filmmaker recording a documentary at the base camp was also killed. American Google executive Dan Fredinburg was the first confirmed fatality on the mountain yesterday. Dr Marisa Eve Girawong, 29, was also killed when ice and rock crushed the 18,000-foot-altitude base camp where she worked as a medic for Madison Mountaineering. A third American, Tom Taplin, 61, who owned TET Films & Photography, was making a documentary when the earthquake hit, NBC News reported. His wife Corey Fryer told the station he died 'doing what he loved'. It is the worst natural disaster Nepal has seen in 81 years, and the highest death toll ever recorded on Everest. Before now, the mountain's deadliest year was 2014, when 16 people died in one day. Rescuers help a porter onto a makeshift stretcher after he was injured when the wall of ice and snow hit .
target: Filmmaker Michael Churton said he watched as the wall of ice approached .
  The 38-year-old from New York then told his group to get down .
  He said: 'It was about 4,000 feet of snow... there was nowhere to run'
  Hoping for the best, he lay down and got into the fetal position .
  The force of the oncoming snow caused him to slam into a rock .
  He dug himself out and then looked for colleagues and other survivors .
  Another survivor said avalanche was 'something out of a Hollywood movie'
  At least 17 people who were on Mount Everest at the time have died .