Rescuers resume search for seven missing trekkers in Nepal avalanche

Jan 22, 2020

Kathmandu (Nepal), Jan 22 (ANI): Clearer weather on Wednesday has raised hopes amongst rescuers searching for missing four South Koreans and three Nepali in Annapurna Trekking Circuit of Nepal which was hit by an avalanche last Friday. After an improvement in the weather conditions, rescuers have stepped up operation in the area from where South Korean trekkers along with their Nepali guides have gone missing. In search of the missing trekkers and their guides, Nepal Mountaineering Association on Wednesday deployed long-line rescue experts Dawa Finju Lama Bhote and Pimba Tenjing Lama. The rescue teams using detectors have been hunted the area where trekkers are suspected to be buried under and have marked the area where they have detected signs that could be related to the missing ones. Despite the ongoing efforts to locate the trekkers, hopes have become bleaker as the area is covered with a thick blanket of snow which would take time to melt. High Altitude Rescue Team of Nepal Army also has been deployed in the avalanche-hit area of Annapurna Circuit. Meanwhile, the operation could take a few days to weeks as the avalanche had dumped up to 12 feet of snow at the site of the disaster, 90 miles northwest of the capital Kathmandu. The incident comes as the winter trekking season in Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, is drawing to a close this month.