Kathmandu officials reported Wednesday that a blizzard and avalanche in the Himalayas in Nepal has killed 17 trekkers and guides, nine of them were foreigners while the eight others were Nepalis. Over a hundred have also remained out of contact on the popular hiking route.
According to The Guardian, the death toll is expected to increase as rescuers struggle through snow and coarse terrain to help dozens who remained stranded in Himalayas' mountainous north. The avalanche has killed the trekkers and buried their bodies in deep snow. The Manang district chief administrator said that digging them out would take days.
Meanwhile, BBC News South Asia Editor Charles Haviland said that the blizzard and several avalanches in the Himalayas in central Nepal that killed over a dozen trekkers is one of the deadliest influences of bad weather ever seen in the region.
The severe rainfall and snowstorms in Nepal seemed to have been prompted by the tail end of Cyclone Hudhud which assaulted neighboring India's east coast.
As reported by the CNN, every year, thousands of international visitors come to Nepal to explore the remarkable mountains of the Himalayas. However, the danger of that attempt revealed them in a fatal way on Tuesday when trekkers from all over the world were killed after being trapped in a heavy snowfall at high altitude.
The Tuesday incident is one of the deadliest tragedies in the history of Nepal, with a population of almost 26 million, which is globally recognized for its impressive mountain ranges, including the infamous Mount Everest. And the loss of lives in the tragedy will affect many nations. It could also dent the confidence in an industry significant to Nepal's economic security.
Nepal's army spokesperson Niranjan Shrestha said that the trekkers died Tuesday evening near the iconic 5,416-meter Thorung La Pass in Mustang district, the highest point of the 21-day Annapurna Circuit trek. The bodies were buried under the suffocating snow. He also added that two helicopters have rescued 38 trekkers who were trapped in the unseasonably heavy snowfall on Wednesday. Search operations will continue Thursday.
Climate specialists said rising global temperatures have contributed to avalanches in the Himalayas. The tragedy that killed several trekkers on its mountains will be a huge setback to impoverished Nepal, which relies heavily on tourism profits from mountaineering and trekking.
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