Nepal avalanches leave 25 dead and 70 missing
At least 70 people are missing and 25 dead after snowstorms triggered avalanches in Nepal on Wednesday.
There are fears the death toll could be far higher as rescue teams continue to search for missing trekkers.
It is thought Cyclone Hudhud in neighbouring India caused the severe rain and snowstorms to hit Nepal.
The blizzards were ferocious in the Mustang district, a remote region of Nepal that is popular with foreign mountaineers. A rescue team travelling by helicopter found 12 bodies buried in the snow there.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a police official said that two of the dead were Israeli nationals, one was from Poland, another was Vietnamese and the remaining eight were Nepalese guides and porters.
The paper reports that two Slovakians and three Nepalese guides were killed on Mount Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest peak in the world standing at 26,795 feet.
Five climbers, "four Canadians and an Indian", were swept away by an avalanche in the Manang district, while another avalanche claimed the lives of three Nepalese yak herders.
The BBC reports that nine people were rescued alive on Wednesday night, and one described the horror of seeing corpses on the journey back after the blizzard.
October is a popular month for trekking in Nepal with thousands of tourists jetting in to enjoy its high-altitude mountain passes and scenic beauty.
But many have been caught off guard by one of the deadliest spells of weather to have ever hit the region.
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