KATHMANDU, Jan 19 (NNN-NEPALNEWS) – Four South Koreans and three Nepalis remained missing since Friday, following an avalanche in western Kaski district, as over 150 foreign tourists and Nepalis were rescued on Saturday from around the area, local officials said.
The incessant snowfall caused the avalanche, near a popular trekking route in the Himalayan country. The area is close to the base camp for Annapurna, one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas.
“Four South Koreans and three Nepalis, guides and porters, who were separated from their nine-member group, are still out of contact, as over 150 Nepalis and foreigners were rescued from around the area on Saturday alone,” Bhim Gurung, chairman of ward No-11, of the Annapurna Rural Municipality, said.
Gurung, who was involved in the rescue operation, said that, around 110 foreigners and around 40 to 50 Nepalis were rescued by local people and by helicopters.
Efforts to mobilise helicopters from early morning for rescue operation were hampered by continued bad weather. According to helicopter companies, they would rescue trekkers in the afternoon, after weather condition improved.
“But we could not land helicopter at the main avalanche-hit area from where trekkers are missing,” said Yogesh Sapkota, chief marketing officer, at Simrik Air, which was involved in the evacuation on Saturday.
As his company rescued 80 to 100 trekkers, Sapkota said, there is almost no trekker left in Annapurna base camp area. “Around 40 people have already arrived in the capital Kathmandu while many reached the nearest city Pokhara,” he added.
“Search operation is underway but it has not been effective due to bad weather,” Sirata Lama, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), an umbrella organisation of trekking companies present in the country, said.– NNN-NEPALNEWS
