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| Nepal rescuers launch final search to find blizzard survivors | Nepal rescuers launch final search to find blizzard survivors |
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| Rescuers in Nepal are making a final, intensive effort to find any remaining survivors of a sudden blizzard that has killed at least 43 people in one of the country’s worst mountain disasters earlier this week. | Rescuers in Nepal are making a final, intensive effort to find any remaining survivors of a sudden blizzard that has killed at least 43 people in one of the country’s worst mountain disasters earlier this week. |
| More than 40 people, including several British trekkers, are believed to still be missing after the unseasonal weather hit a popular 200-mile (320km) trekking route around Annapurna, the world’s 10th-tallest peak on Tuesday. | More than 40 people, including several British trekkers, are believed to still be missing after the unseasonal weather hit a popular 200-mile (320km) trekking route around Annapurna, the world’s 10th-tallest peak on Tuesday. |
| “This will be the most rigorous combing and tracking exercise we have launched so far,” Niranjan Shrestha, the army official leading the search and rescue effort, told Reuters on Saturday. | “This will be the most rigorous combing and tracking exercise we have launched so far,” Niranjan Shrestha, the army official leading the search and rescue effort, told Reuters on Saturday. |
| The storm, caused by a cyclone which crossed northern India last weekend, caught hikers as they crossed the exposed 5,400-metre Thorong pass, one of the final stages of the famous Annapurna circuit route and its highest point. | The storm, caused by a cyclone which crossed northern India last weekend, caught hikers as they crossed the exposed 5,400-metre Thorong pass, one of the final stages of the famous Annapurna circuit route and its highest point. |
| At least 17 tourists died from exposure or in avalanches on the pass after the weather deteriorated fast, bringing biting cold, heavy snowfall and low visibility. | At least 17 tourists died from exposure or in avalanches on the pass after the weather deteriorated fast, bringing biting cold, heavy snowfall and low visibility. |
| Binay Acharya, of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) – an industry body organising rescue efforts – said he believed “all remaining trekkers in the region are [now] safe” having found shelter or moved to safer ground. | Binay Acharya, of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) – an industry body organising rescue efforts – said he believed “all remaining trekkers in the region are [now] safe” having found shelter or moved to safer ground. |
| “We have not received any further calls for rescue or for information about stranded people,” Acharya said. | “We have not received any further calls for rescue or for information about stranded people,” Acharya said. |
| But there is still confusion over the number of missing, and the exact death toll in the disaster. While the army estimates more than 40 are missing, the home ministry put it higher, at more than 35 tourists and 30 Nepalese men. Foreign victims included hikers from Canada, India, Israel and Poland. | |
| The official death toll stands at 32 but one official said it was expected to rise. Concerns are growing that several British trekkers could have been caught in the storm. | The official death toll stands at 32 but one official said it was expected to rise. Concerns are growing that several British trekkers could have been caught in the storm. |
| The Foreign Office confirmed it had been contacted by concerned families who have not heard from their relatives in days. But officials in Nepal told the Guardian said they had no reports of British casualties. | The Foreign Office confirmed it had been contacted by concerned families who have not heard from their relatives in days. But officials in Nepal told the Guardian said they had no reports of British casualties. |
| Lisa Hallet told the Times she had last spoken to her boyfriend, who is trekking in the Annapurna region, on Wednesday. “He said he was planning to head out that day or on Thursday, but I have not heard from him since,” she said. | Lisa Hallet told the Times she had last spoken to her boyfriend, who is trekking in the Annapurna region, on Wednesday. “He said he was planning to head out that day or on Thursday, but I have not heard from him since,” she said. |
| October is peak trekking season in Nepal and usually sees perfect conditions for the sport. | October is peak trekking season in Nepal and usually sees perfect conditions for the sport. |
| Nepal’s biggest mountains largely remain the preserve of experienced mountaineers with technical equipment and experience. | Nepal’s biggest mountains largely remain the preserve of experienced mountaineers with technical equipment and experience. |
| However, trekking is becoming increasingly popular. More than 110,000 foreign trekkers visited Annapurna in 2013 – a significant rise on the 106,000 in 2012. | However, trekking is becoming increasingly popular. More than 110,000 foreign trekkers visited Annapurna in 2013 – a significant rise on the 106,000 in 2012. |
| Authorities have faced widespread criticism over their handling of the disaster, particularly the failure to pass on warnings from the meteorological office to trekkers. | Authorities have faced widespread criticism over their handling of the disaster, particularly the failure to pass on warnings from the meteorological office to trekkers. |
| Nepal’s prime minister, Sushil Koirala, has announced plans to set up a new weather warning system to reach trekkers and prevent disasters in the future. The poverty-stricken south-Asian state relies heavily on tourism revenues from climbing and trekking. | Nepal’s prime minister, Sushil Koirala, has announced plans to set up a new weather warning system to reach trekkers and prevent disasters in the future. The poverty-stricken south-Asian state relies heavily on tourism revenues from climbing and trekking. |
| Experts said that the current system works well for high-altitude mountaineering expeditions such as those on Everest but not for ordinary walkers. | Experts said that the current system works well for high-altitude mountaineering expeditions such as those on Everest but not for ordinary walkers. |
| In comments likely to spark anger, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman of Nepal’s tourism ministry, said those who suffered most were “cheaper tourists” who did not want to hire individual guides. | In comments likely to spark anger, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman of Nepal’s tourism ministry, said those who suffered most were “cheaper tourists” who did not want to hire individual guides. |
| Paul Sheridan, a 49-year-old policeman from South Yorkshire who survived the storm, told the Guardian many trekkers and local staff were not adequately equipped. | Paul Sheridan, a 49-year-old policeman from South Yorkshire who survived the storm, told the Guardian many trekkers and local staff were not adequately equipped. |
| “There were biting winds and cold so severe it froze your eyelids. But there were people trying to protect their heads with plastic bags and without gloves … It was an accident waiting to happen.” | “There were biting winds and cold so severe it froze your eyelids. But there were people trying to protect their heads with plastic bags and without gloves … It was an accident waiting to happen.” |
| Trekkers on the Annapurna circuit rely on a system of guesthouses less than a day’s walk apart for accommodation and rarely carry their own tents or cooking equipment. | Trekkers on the Annapurna circuit rely on a system of guesthouses less than a day’s walk apart for accommodation and rarely carry their own tents or cooking equipment. |
| Few have been trained in poor weather navigation, avalanche avoidance or search techniques. | Few have been trained in poor weather navigation, avalanche avoidance or search techniques. |
| Sapkota said the “incident has taught us a lesson” and that emergency shelters would be constructed to prevent similar incidents in the future. | Sapkota said the “incident has taught us a lesson” and that emergency shelters would be constructed to prevent similar incidents in the future. |
| The government will also move to restrict people trekking on their own. | The government will also move to restrict people trekking on their own. |
| “We will strictly record their names and ask them to take all the information about the weather, area and adopt safety measures,” he said. | “We will strictly record their names and ask them to take all the information about the weather, area and adopt safety measures,” he said. |
| Ramesh Prasad Dhamala, president of TAAN, said today that in future all trekkers would be required to have at least a guide and porter with them. | Ramesh Prasad Dhamala, president of TAAN, said today that in future all trekkers would be required to have at least a guide and porter with them. |
| It is unclear, however, what system might be put in place to ensure guides are trained and tested. | It is unclear, however, what system might be put in place to ensure guides are trained and tested. |
| The snowstorm is one of Nepal’s worst trekking disasters since 1995 when a huge avalanche struck the camp of a Japanese trekking group in the Mount Everest region – killing 42 people, including 13 Japanese. | The snowstorm is one of Nepal’s worst trekking disasters since 1995 when a huge avalanche struck the camp of a Japanese trekking group in the Mount Everest region – killing 42 people, including 13 Japanese. |
| The Himalayan nation has suffered multiple avalanches this year, with 16 guides killed in April on Everest, forcing an unprecedented shutdown of the world’s highest peak. | The Himalayan nation has suffered multiple avalanches this year, with 16 guides killed in April on Everest, forcing an unprecedented shutdown of the world’s highest peak. |
| Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains. Income from tourism, including permit fees from trekkers, who made up more than 12% of its 800,000 tourists in 2013, accounts for 4% of its economy. | Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains. Income from tourism, including permit fees from trekkers, who made up more than 12% of its 800,000 tourists in 2013, accounts for 4% of its economy. |