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Hopes fade in search for survivors of snowstorm in Nepal's Himalayas

The search for survivors after a deadly blizzard in Nepal appears to be coming to an end, with re...
Newstalk
Newstalk

16.30 19 Oct 2014


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Hopes fade in search for survi...

Hopes fade in search for survivors of snowstorm in Nepal's Himalayas

Newstalk
Newstalk

16.30 19 Oct 2014


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The search for survivors after a deadly blizzard in Nepal appears to be coming to an end, with rescuers now trying to recover the bodies of trekkers left trapped under layers of snow and ice.

A further 34 people who were stranded in the Himalayas have been rescued, according to local police, but their condition has not been disclosed.

Helicopters are revisiting badly-affected areas where bodies have been seen in another attempt to retrieve them.

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More than 40 people are reported to have died in the snowstorm, but this figure is expected to rise.

A spokesman from the Trekking Agencies' Association said: "A team of experts dug through snow to recover bodies of two Indians in the Nar-Phu area. Ten bodies are [still] believed to be buried in that area."

Since Wednesday, 483 guides and trekkers have been rescued – 292 of them foreign nationals, according to the AFP news agency.

Some survivors are believed to be suffering from severe cases of frostbite, making limb amputations likely, Nepalese officials say.

Of the 34 rescued on Sunday, 17 people were Nepalese, 10 were German, five were Australian and two were Swedish.

Those saved may have been a group attempting the same route as victims who perished in the snowstorm - as a result, the route has been closed by the government until further notice.

This is the worst mountain disaster in Nepal since 1995, when 42 people were killed in avalanches on Mount Everest.


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