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Annapurna avalanche: Snow hampers search for missing South Korean trekkers
January 20, 2020 No Responses Nepal Trek Hub
KATHMANDU: Snow hampers search for missing South Korean trekkers and Nepali helpers and Guide who is missing after the Avalanches of 17th January. Annapurna base camp search and rescue update is still going on.
The rescued team continued to search the missing people even in Saturday but nothing found out, The snow level is too high which is the main obstacles of the search and rescue operations.
Heavy snowfall – as much as 5m (16ft) at the scene of the avalanche – delayed rescue efforts on Saturday, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Special army and government rescue personnel have intensified their search for four South Korean trekkers and their three Nepali guides who went missing after an avalanche swept a popular trekking routes of Annapurna
This is very narrow part of valley before deurali which is very dangerous part of avalanche (Deurali villages is blue area)
Me, Shreeram thapaliya have been guiding to the tourist since 10 years in the region and in my experience snowfall is the main obstacles in this trek because the valley is very narrow and if something falls from the Bottom of Hiuchuli 6400 meter peak, it directly hits to the trekkers because the trail is underneath the peak and there is no way to run out.
Annapurna Avalanche
Annapurna Avalanche is very common in the Annapurna trekking route. Annapurna is the deadliest mountain to climb. Not, only the climb but reaching up to the base camp is also difficult because of the Avalanche Area. Annapurna has many trekking routes such as Annapurna circuit trek, Annapurna base camp trek and many others. Annapurna circuit is less risky than Annapurna base camp because there is no avalanche falling area in Annapurna circuit but in Annapurna base camp trek route there are 3 Main Dangerous zone where an avalanche is very frequent if there is heavy snowfall on the bottom of Himchuli 6400 Meter mountain. The valley is too narrow and the trail is just underneath the himchuli mountain so there is very risk of the avalanche that is what we call Annapurna Avalanche. You need to go with a group or you have to ask for the local for your safety.
The trekkers climbing the landslides which is made by an big avalanches where more than 10 german died. This is very dangerous area after deurali
The incident happened in most dangerous area, altitude of around 3,230m, nearby Deuarli. This is the most dangerous part of Avalanche area of Annapurna base camp trek route. The Heavy snowfall during the Thursday and Friday is the main reason of this avalanche.
Meanwhile, More than 150 trekkers including more than 90 foreigners were moved back to Pokhara, according to Mira Acharya, a tourism department official.
The missing trekkers, two women in their 30s and 50s and two men in their 50s are teachers who were staying in Nepal for volunteer work, South Korea’s foreign ministry told Yonhap News Agency.
Sandesh Pandey of Local tour agency of Nepal, which helped to arrange the trek to Annapurna base camp, said the four gone missing people were part of an 11-member team from South Korea.
The search Operation will continue on Tuesday as well
Thousands of trekkers do the Annapurna base camp trek in every year for its stunning views of the Annapurna Himalayan Range.
In 2014, a snowstorm killed about 40 people on the popular circuit, in one of the biggest trekking tragedies to hit Nepal.
till 20 January local time 8:51, there is no update regarding the missing people in Annapurna base camp trek