The avalanche took place at an altitude of around 3,200 meters, near the base camp for the ascent of Annapurna, after heavy snowfall on Friday. Four South Koreans and three Nepalese are now missing as a result of the avalanche that hit trekking groups in one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas, Nepalese authorities announced on Saturday.
“We are informed that there is no contact with four South Koreans and three Nepalese after the avalanche. A rescue team was dispatched last night, "said Mira Dhakal, an official with the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism. Six of the missing were part of a trekking group while the seventh is a Nepalese porter working for another group of hikers.
About 200 people rescued
Some 200 people in the avalanche-affected area and on other trekking routes were rescued after improved weather conditions allowed the helicopters to access them.
The four missing South Koreans were part of a group of eleven people from South Korea. The rest of the team are safe. In South Korea, education officials said the four were part of a team of volunteer teachers who worked with children in Nepal.
"It was getting dangerous and difficult"
Ang Dorjee Sherpa of the Korean Alpine Federation said it had snowed for two days in the area where the group of South Koreans lived, making its progression risky. “The weather and the snowfall were getting worse, and sensing that it was getting dangerous and difficult, they decided to turn back. When they did, they were hit by the avalanche, ”he said.
Kim Sung-hwa, a South Korean returning to Kathmandu after a trekking tour in the Langtang region of eastern Nepal, said that he had to stop his journey after exceptional snowfall. “Winter is a dry season (in Nepal) and (usually) you don't see that much snow. But due to extraordinary weather conditions… even when we went to Langtang, there was heavy precipitation and snowfall, ”he explained.
Annapurna is a mountain particularly prone to avalanches and technically difficult. It has a higher mortality rate than Everest, the highest peak in the world.
Trip
Mountaineering: Climbing Everest or the quest for the ultimate peak
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