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Four killed in Himalayan snowstorm Nepal snowstorms kill 12 people in Himalayas
(about 1 hour later)
Four people have been killed and more than 150 others are out of contact after a snowstorm struck the Himalayan region of central Nepal, police say. An avalanche and blizzard in Nepal’s mountainous north have killed 12 people, including foreign trekkers, officials say.
“There has been heavy snowfall in the area, up to 3ft (91cm),” a police official, Ganesh Rai, said. “Among the dead are two Polish trekkers and one Israeli. A Nepali was also buried by the snow.” An avalanche on Wednesday buried four Canadians and one Indian trekker in Phu, said the chief administrator of Manang district. It is expected to take several days to retrieve their bodies.
Officials rescued 13 tourists who had been stranded in the storm after blizzards cleared on Wednesday. Rai said 168 tourists had registered to trek in Mustang along the popular Annapurna circuit this week, of whom 152 remained out of contact. Three villagers were killed on Monday in the same district, about 100 miles north-west of the capital, Kathmandu. Their bodies were recovered on Wednesday.
A district official, Baburam Bhandari, said: “The phone network is not very good so we have not been able to get in touch with the missing, but we hope to find them later today.” In neighbouring Mustang district, four trekkers caught in a blizzard died on Tuesday. Rescuers recovered the bodies of the two Poles, one Israeli and one Nepali trekker from the Thorong La pass area.
Thousands of tourists visit the Annapurna region every October, when weather conditions are deemed favourable for hiking trips. However, Mustang has experienced unusually heavy snowfall this week as a result of cyclone Hudhud, which struck neighbouring India’s eastern coast at the weekend. It was initially thought the group had been caught in an avalanche, but a government official said the four trekkers instead had been caught in the blizzard and died. Yam Bahadur Chokyal said another 14 foreign trekkers had been rescued, and two army helicopters were picking up injured trekkers and flying them to Jomsom town.
Chokyal said it was not possible to say how many trekkers remained stranded but several of them have reached safe ground on Wednesday because of improved weather.
The rain and snow in Nepal were caused by a cyclone that hit neighbouring India several days ago.
October is a popular trekking month in Nepal, with thousands of foreigners hiking around Nepal’s Himalayan mountains.
The Thorong La pass is on the route that circles Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest peak.
An avalanche in April just above the base camp on Mount Everest killed 16 Nepalese guides, the deadliest single disaster on the mountain. Climate experts say rising global temperatures have contributed to avalanches on Himalayan mountains.