Seven trekkers still missing on Annapurna circuit trekking route

-Hari Bastola/Krishna Dawadi

The whereabouts of seven trekkers including four Korean citizens and three Nepali guides who had gone missing in an avalanche on Friday that swept the Annapurna circuit trekking route, are still known, said the police.

The police rescued other five avalanche-trapped trekkers and airlifted them to safer palces, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, adding that rescue operations are underway. Likewise, more than 100 trekkers left stranded by the disaster were rescued from the Machhapurchhe Base Camp and various places like Chhumrung, Deurali and Himalayan, he said.

Three helicopters were used to rescue them. The avalanche occurred at an altitude of 10,600 feet along the route. Of the rescued tourists, 30 have been taken to Pokhara, Chhumrung.

There might be many trekkers trapped in the avalanche as five to seven feet snow blanketed the areas, said Hari Bhujel, president of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, West Region, adding dtifficulties faced in carrying out rescue operations due to bad weather and chill,

Similarly, four Chinese trekkers, who had embarked on a trip to the Annapurna trekking route, have lost contact, said Superintendent of Police Dipak Regmi. The trekkers had taken a permit for Thongla Pass from the Annapurna Conservation Area Project at Nisyang rural municipality-9 in Manang on January 12, he said.

Of them, two are women and two men. The missing people have been identified as Whang Ehin (passport: EG 112962), Chhath Sthau (passport: EO 5256480), Ma Quoyanli (passport: EC 346710) and Nbadd Jad (passport: E 6687005). Search operation has been launched to rescue the missing trekkers, said the police.