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Death toll hits 39 in Nepal trekking disaster

October 18, 2014

The death toll from a devastating blizzard in Nepal's Himalaya region has hit 39, and is expected to rise further. Rescue workers are scouring the popular Annapurna hiking trail for trekkers still missing.

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Soldiers search for survivors
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/NepalArmy

Nepali authorities said the bodies of several more hikers were recovered on Saturday, bringing the death toll to at least 39. Dozens of people are still unaccounted for.

Tuesday's freak weather during what is normally the peak, late-summer season resulted in severe snowfalls and avalanches along the 220-kilometer (140-mile) Annapurna hiking circuit.

Nepali guides, as well as tourists from countries including Japan, Canada, Israel, Poland, Slovakia, India and Vietnam, were among those known to have perished.

On Saturday, Nepali troops were deployed to search the route on foot, while several helicopters were sent to fly over more rugged circuit terrain which peaks at 5,400 meters.

"This will be the most rigorous combing and tracking exercise we have launched so far," Niranjan Shrestha, head of the army's search and rescue effort, told Reuters.

"The soldiers will be digging up the snow to make sure they do not leave a single body behind," he said.

Bodies spotted

Eight bodies had been spotted from the air in the Dopla district in central Nepal, but were yet to be retrieved, the spokesman for the Home Ministry Yadav Koirala said.

Meanwhile, search parties picked up at least 50 hikers from the area around the track, bringing the total number of rescued walkers to just under 400.

"Fifty trekkers, most of whom were Israelis, were rescued from different villages in Manang where they had been stranded," said Shrawan Kumar Timilsina, the chief district officer of Lamjung told news agency DPA. "They are all safe and unhurt."

Nepal's 2nd recent disaster

Tuesday's snowstorm was triggered by Cyclone Hudhud in neighboring India, and is the second major mountain disaster in Nepal this year. In April, an avalanche killed 16 guides on Mount Everest.

Following this week's tragedy, Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala announced plans to set up a weather warning system across the country, which is a popular destination for foreign hikers and climbers.

nm/ipj (dpa, Reuters, AP, AFP)