Small avalanches hamper Nepal’s survivor search

Small avalanches hampered the search for Nepalese porters and guides missing for six days after a devastating Himalayan storm, officials said yesterday, as rescue crews began to scale back the hunt for survivors of a disaster that killed 40 people.

Nearly 600 people have been rescued from the popular hiking trail around Annapurna, the world’s 10th-highest peak, after it was hit by unseasonable snow and avalanches brought by the tail end of a cyclone that swept through India.

“Today is the last day of the search and rescue operation,” said Keshav Pandey of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal. “After this, we can only hope that those who are missing will establish contact with us or their families.”

“We don’t think that any tourist is missing now. I am getting reports that some local porters and tour guides who were on the trek have not been traced so far,” said Pandey, whose team has rescued more than 250 people.

The dead include Canadian, Indian, Israeli, Japanese, Nepalese, Polish and Slovak trekkers.

Survivors said many people perished trying to descend in freezing whiteout conditions from the highest pass of the 240km trail around Annapurna, which offers dramatic views of crags and hamlets.

Searchers retrieved another body yesterday, taking the tally of deaths to 40.

“Army rescuers dug out the body of an Israeli tourist from snow today,” said Bujumbura Bhandari, chief administrator of Nepal’s Mustang district, one of the worst hit.

Nepalese army and private helicopters have brought back survivors from parts of the trail that are more than 5,0th high.

Soldiers fanned out through some of the most treacherous terrain, where helicopters cannot land, including around the glacial lake of Tilicho, about four days’ trek from the main circuit, and the distant villages of Naar and Phu near Tibet.

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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/10/21/2003602583

Structure of the Lead：

who: Himalayan climbers

when:10/16 , 2014

what:A storm and an avalanche killed 40 people

why:the storm appeared suddenly

where:Himalayan , Nepal

how:there's not enough time to run

Key words:

avalanche 雪崩

storm 風暴

cyclone 颶風

traced 追蹤

retrieved 收回

helicopters 直昇機