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Nepal snowstorms kill 12 people in Himalayas | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
An avalanche and blizzard in Nepal’s mountainous north have killed 12 people, including foreign trekkers, officials say. | |
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. | |
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. | |
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. | |
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. |