18 Oct 2014

39 dead in Nepal climbing disaster

At least 39 climbers have died and more than 40 are missing after intense blizzards and avalanches on a hiking route in Nepal earlier this week.

Helicopters and Nepali troops are searching for missing trekkers in the snow-covered terrain. At least 175 people have been injured in what is one of Nepal’s worst ever mountain disasters.

The unseasonal weather has occurred in peak trekking season, causing avalanches to fall on the route around Annapurna, the world’s 10th-tallest peak. The trek usually takes around three weeks to finish.

On Saturday, rescuers pulled out 60 people, taking the total rescued to more than 370 trekkers – most of them foreigners – since efforts began on Wednesday. Rescuers are still searching for more survivors, who are believed to be stranded in lodges and huts.

Deepak Raj Adhikari, a mountain guide who is now volunteering as part of the rescue mission told Channel 4 News that he had helped rescue 39 people yesterday and is searching for more today: “There are about 130 people stranded in one area but we can only rescue them from one side [because of the snow].

“This is an unexpected disaster for this season. The weather was supposed to be very good with clear blue skies on the mountains. But suddenly we got snow and storms. There’s a lot of people spread everywhere, I don’t know whether we’ll be able to reach all areas of the mountain.”

Missing trekkers

Estimates on the number of people missing vary. The Nepali army say more than 40 people are missing, while the home ministry estimate the figure at more than 35 tourists and 30 Nepali men.

A Facebook page has been set up in an attempt to find people feared missing in the disaster. The page lists five British people with status ‘unknown’.

The Foreign Office confirmed they had been contacted by concerned families who have not heard from their relatives in days. A spokeswoman said they had been in close touch with the Nepalese authorities but have not been informed of any British casualties.

Thorong La, the highest pass along the Annapurna trek, is at an altitude of 5,416 metres, but the route does not require mountaineering experience. Many hikers were caught unprepared and unawares by the sudden change in the weather.

This is the second high profile accident in Nepal this year, after 16 Sherpa guides were killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest in April.