Two climbers attempting to scale Nepal's Mount Dhaulagiri have gone missing, sparking off a frantic search to rescue the men, media reports said Friday.

Dario Bracali, an Argentine national, and an unidentified Spanish climber went missing Thursday from Camp 3 on the slope of Dhaulagiri, at 7,400 metres above sea level in western Nepal, the Himalayan Times newspaper reported.

Both men were solo climbers, the newspaper said.

A four-member rescue team from Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal (HRAN) was dispatched to the mountain to start the search for the missing climbers.

The incident is the first serious climbing mishap reported on the Nepalese Himalayas in the current Spring climbing season.

The 8,167-metre Mt. Dhaulagiri is the world's seventh tallest peak. It was first climbed by a Swiss expedition team in 1960.